


An Old Name

by Fawkespryde



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Sideshow - Fandom
Genre: Animal Death, How to tame your fish husband, M/M, Slowburn Relationship, Supernatural Elements, everyone dreams of meeting a hot fae when on vacation, fae elements, getting high off that seaWEED, mermaid au, mermaids and leviathans oh my, thalassophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-06-29 23:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 89,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19840759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fawkespryde/pseuds/Fawkespryde
Summary: Keenan was at an impasse.Even if things did end up working and the two of them tried the whole ‘dating thing’, he was only going to be here on the island for a little time. Trying to start a relationship was probably a very bad idea. He'll only end up with a broken heart afterwords...But then again, Keenan have never been known for making smart decisions. He cared little about how silly he must have looked, crushing like a schoolgirl on a man he only knew for a day. He was on a island in the middle of nowhere, away from work and with one of the most gorgeous men he had set his eyes on. It had been so long since he felt this way and he was going to enjoy every second with Jared.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Before we begin, I gotta drop some heavy props to all the people that assisted and supported me in my drive to write this. Over a hundred pages and still growing, I kept adding more and more to the delight of everyone in the discord.
> 
> Thank you Sky for the inspiration to expand upon the pictures that you and I did in regards to the sideshow boys being mermaids. This is dedicated to you. I hope you find enjoyment in all the tropes that I found a way of shoving in when no one was looking.
> 
> Thank you Boffy for having the patience with me whenever I would bump and prod him to check what I had written down for spelling and grammatical errors. I know I must have bothered him at times doing so but he never once complained and always gave me fresh ideas and asked the questions that I never thought to ask when building this verse.
> 
> Thank you to everyone in Bothain Airson Companaich for keeping me driven in writing this. Thank you to those who got to check this out when I initially opened this up for viewing it when it was still only at 70 pages. Thank you to those who, even though they didn't get to read it, they still supported me in seeing this through to the end.
> 
> This will be my first ever completed piece of work. While I did initially want to release this in one big post, I decided to break it into smaller bite sized pieces for easier consumption. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

“Resonat Mare” Keenan read the ticket out loud once more as he was wandering around the La airport looking for his terminal. Sam was by his side helping him pull along his suitcase as they ducked and weaved between men in suits and families with kids coming and going. Keenan sighed, taking a brief pause to do a full circle. “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

Sam just watched him with amusement flickering in his gaze. He rested his weight forward on the suitcases handle and followed Keenan with his eyes as he moved over to inquire at a nearby help desk for directions. 

“Go down that hall, take a left at the blue sign then go down a few more feet.” The attendant indicated with wide sweeping gestures towards the direction that he had come from. Keenan let out a long exhale to calm himself and he pinched his brow.

“Ok, and then I’m there?”

The woman let out a cheery smile and the shake of her head had Keenan’s heart plummeting to his stomach. “No. Then you go straight till you see a Starbucks and take another right that will lead you past terminal B’s baggage check. Go past that, take another right and then the next hallway take a left. If you see an emergency exit then you’ve gone too far.”

Keenan almost strangled her right then and there, his brow twitching more and more as she kept going on and on.

“Or you could just go down this hall and take the escalator up. The yellow sign will point you to your terminal.”

He didn’t need to be told anything else and he was already running back to Sam. His friend rose a brow at him but said nothing about his hasty departure from the attendant that was giving him a blank smile. The two of them decided to take the second set of directions and they proved to be easier to follow. Honestly, if they had wasted anymore time, Keenan would have just called the whole vacation quits. He had no patience even if the trip was free.

The month long vacation that he was going on had been offered to him by his good friend Sam who couldn't spend that length of time being away from his wife and child. The tickets for the hotel and everything were meant for one person but they were pretty sure they didn't have any sort of name on it so a switch was easy for the two of them to pull off. Sam had argued that Keenan had needed the time off after how ragged he had been running himself at work. Everyone at their job knew that Keenan was almost addicted to staying up late working and pushing himself for days at a time. He'd crash for a few hours and then be back up in the morning to start the cycle all over again.

It took several days of prodding and arguing to finally get Keenan to agree and even then when he left Sam’s home with a definitive ‘no’ and got in his car, the tickets were sitting bundled up in a nice pile on his seat. No amount of pleading would get his friend to take them back. So after hours of deliberating (and several glasses of wine) he finally bit the bullet and called the number on the ticket to check in and get more details. Sam had been kind enough to drive him to the airport and planned on picking him up again once the month was over. 

The two of them stayed together as Keenan finally found his terminal and checked his luggage in. Now with that done, they had a few moments to spend together. It was just starting to hit home how long he would be away from his best friend and they sat at the front gate, knees bumping as they spoke.

“A whole month.” Keenan mumbled again, staring down at the floor in trepidation. It was almost time for him to board and Keenan was feeling nervous again. He hadn't been so far from home in a long time and he was going to be gone for thirty days.

His flight was called on the p.a system as if it was timed for just that moment and he stood up, shifting his weight from one foot to the other to ease the blood back into his limbs. Keenan was flighty and was prepared to call it quits but Sam caught onto that and pulled him into a hug before he could back out.

“I don't.. I don't know if I can do this.” Keenan looked up at Sam as they hugged. His breathing had gotten more haggard the more he let his mind wander. “This vacation was for you anyways. What if they catch on that I’m not you?”

“Well hopefully they don’t. But if they do let’s hope it’s when your already there and they can’t just send you back. Besides you need this break.” Sam parted them from the hug but maintained a firm grip on Keenan’s shoulders. He gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, keeping him within arms reach in case he intended on bolting again. “You haven’t taken a day off for almost a year. It’s not healthy to bury yourself in your work like that.”

Keenan practically whined, his eyes downcast as he realized his friend wasn't about to let him back out. “That’s another point though. What about work? I know I have vacation days but taking a whole month… That’s absurd.”

“Keenan, work will be here when you get back. Seriously stop worrying.” Seeing the nervousness on Keenan's face, he took a deep breath and tried for another tactic. “Think of it this way. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You get to go out and immerse yourself in some foreign culture and be away from work and stress. These are the type of things people would kill to do in their lifetime. The type of trips that make memories. Take some pictures, meet some friends…”

Sam saw that his friend was starting to soften up to the idea and pulled him back towards him, winding one arm around his shoulder. He grinned and gave him a little playful nudge. “Who knows… Maybe you'll finally meet that special someone. Even if it’s just a casual hook up.. I mean, you could even find someone you’d want to spend the rest of your life with.”

“Yeah sure.... because long term relationships always work with me.” Keenan trailed off, recalling his previous relationship with a bitter taste in his mouth. He tried not to let that affect him too much, knowing that Sam was only trying his best to cheer him up for a month at a fancy carribean island. His friend was right, he should be excited. He let out a shaky smile and tightened his grip on his carry on bag, trying to calm his nerves. “But I think I can see your point. I’ll try to enjoy myself.”

“Who knows you might even completely forget about Twitter for once.” Sam gave him one last hug and demanded a finally picture of the two of two of them to signify the beginning of his vacation. 

“Now let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” Keenan laughed as he threw up the peace sign while Sam stuck his tongue out at the camera. He looked down at the picture and smiled despite noticing the rabbit ears that his friend had snuck behind his head. They were several minutes into posing and adding weird filters to the pictures when the intercom crackled back to life again, reminding people that they were doing the last boarding checks.

Sam saw his friend freeze at the announcement and he pushed him forward towards his gate. “Go go go! You’ll miss your flight!” He threw his arms over his head and waved as Keenan ran, only turning at the last second to give a final brave smile. 

“Call you when I get there!” Keenan called back before he took off full tilt and hurtled himself like a gazelle to his gate. He startled several people passing by and brandished his ticket with gasping breaths much to the amusement of the woman standing there. She took his ticket from him and after confirming his seat number, she allowed him to pass into the airplane. 

“You're lucky. We were just finishing up with our check. Please, right this way sir.”

***

Keenan wasn't known to be a nervous flier. Far from it actually. He had been on several trips with his family that required them to travel by plane so he was used to the preflight checks that would take place before they'd even end up in the air. What he wasn't used to however was how spacious and empty the plane on the inside was. There were several empty seats around him despite looking like the plane could house hundreds of people. He glanced around after stashing his carry on bag in the overhead compartment and counted only a half dozen others seated in different aisles. Curiosity quickly took hold of Keenan and he flagged down a passing attendant as she passed by his seat.

The woman stopped in her tracks and crouched down next to his seat so she could be at eye level with him as they spoke. “Is there something wrong?” She inquired with a polite incline of her head. Her hair was neatly tucked up into a bun and her lips were a bright scarlet that showed the curl of her lips as she spoke.

“Uh no, I was just wondering if I got on the wrong flight? There doesn't seem to be many people on the plane and..” Keenan indicated to the empty aisles of seats around him.

She pressed a fingernail to her lips as if in deep thought and hummed as he spoke. Taking his ticket, she flipped it open before her smile returned. “Oh no sir. You are on the right flight. You are flying directly to Resonat Mare. Because of that, the passenger list is smaller.”

“Directly to the hotel?” Keenan took his ticket back and looked down at it with a confused quirk to his brow. He ran his thumb over the paper, eyeing the hotel pamphlet with a nervous lilt to his tone. “The plane just.... lands in the hotel?”

The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and tilted her head to the side, looking worried. Her bright red lips were curled down in a frown. “Is something wrong?”

“No, this is just my first time ever taking a flight to-” Keenan looked back down at his ticket, knowing that he wouldn't be able to pronounce the island properly even if he tried. He decided to trail off his sentence instead of even attempting it. “-this island. Do many people vacation there? Or is each flight as small as this one?”

She smiled at Keenan as if recalling a found memory and shook her head. “No sir. The population on the island is small and they like to keep it that way so very few people travel there a year. I believe it's a way to ensure that the land remains as eco friendly and natural as possible.” The woman looked like she was about to say more but one glance down the aisle had her standing again. She brushed off her skirt and gave a little respectful bow his way. 

“Please excuse me. We still have preflight checks to go through.” Without waiting for a response, she was already walking to the back of the plane. Keenan watched her for a few seconds before looking back down at the folded paper that he had been given before stepping aboard. It was a flier for the hotel he would be staying at and had gorgeous hand drawn illustrations of tropical fish and bubbles around the name ‘Resonat Mare’. 

There were pictures of leisurely looking dining halls and bedrooms that appeared lit up by the ethereal glow of the blue ocean. Underneath each photo was a short description printed in gold. All in all, it looked quite splendid. It was hard to believe that he was allowed to stay an entire month on the hotels dime just for some online contest that Sam had won. Keenan found himself getting more and more into the idea of spending his time drinking fancy drinks and taking pictures of all the sights. And of course, stay as far away from the ocean as he possibly could.

After a few minutes of reading, Keenan was informed that they would be taking off and he needed to wear his seatbelt until they reached a comfortable altitude. He did and once they were up in the air and flying from Los Angeles, Keenan retrieved his tablet to do a bit of reading on the way there. He only got a few pages in however and found himself drifting off to sleep. He slept for most of the flight there, only being woken up once for drinks. It was strange. Usually he was too wired to relax on planes, too hopped up to just enjoy himself and wait to land. Maybe it was the lack of people and noise that made it so easy for him to fall asleep.

***

He was woken up by a hand on his shoulder and Keenan startled momentarily, not knowing where he was before his memory caught up with him. Glancing up, he saw a different flight attendant standing before him. She had retracted her hand and gave him a little wave. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you but we just landed a few minutes ago.”

That had Keenan sitting up from his slouched position. He looked out his window to see an expanse of pavement with another parked plane, but this one was smaller and looked more personal. Beyond the runway there was sand that was so pale it looked white in the sun and beyond that, the ocean gleamed like a sparkling gem. “Oh thank you for-” He glanced back to the woman to see her already several seats away, talking to another passenger. 

Keenan lifted his armrest and climbed out of his seat, stretching his arms above his head. He could almost touch the ceiling with his fingertips as he did so. After hearing a satisfying click, he lowered his arms again and rolled his shoulders. Falling asleep in a crouched position over his tablet hadn't done any favours for his back. Keenan retrieved his carry on bag and tossed the device and his headphones back inside before making his way to the exit.

“We hope you have a lovely vacation.” Another attendant stood near the door and had her hands crossed in front of her lap politely. She smiled and gave a little bow as he passed by. “See you at the end of the month.”

Keenan walked out of the gate and into the hotel terminal before he paused. Something that the woman had said felt off and he turned to inquire but found that the spot where the woman had been was now empty. He scratched the back of his neck in confusion. That was strange. He decided to shrug off that weird feeling and instead focused on where to pick up his luggage and check in.

***

He made the short journey from the small plane terminal and passed by a few other visitors who were already fawning over the view out the window. They were excitedly taking pictures of the ocean from where they were and while Keenan was in agreement that the view was nice, he was more focused on finding his room. This entire trip here could end up being temporary if they figured out that he wasn’t Sam and had instead taken his place. Keenan walked down a luxurious hallway that functioned as a sitting area with several benches and tables all over the place. The heat was starting to seep through his jacket and he paused against one of the walls to pull it off. 

He hung the jacket off one arm, swinging his bag over his shoulder again and glancing around at the hotel. From the looks of things he was currently in the seating area that separated the airport from the hotel. The ceiling was almost entirely glass and the walls were covered in plants of all sorts. The kind of plant life that he had only ever seen on the Discovery channel. He caught a flicker of movement and looked up to see a flock of brightly coloured birds fly from one end of the hall to the other, unbothered by the confines of the structure.

Keenan continued to walk and passed by several signs that helpfully guided him to the lobby where he was meant to retrieve his luggage and check in. He was occasionally glancing down at his flier and almost bumped into an elderly woman who was walking his way. With a jerk, he managed to lift up his arm and stumble just out of the ladies way before she walked into him. 

“S-sorry..” He murmured as she looked up at him with an affixed expression of irritation. She let some sort of shrill noise out akin to that of a frustrated bird and continued to waddle off, the sound of her cane loud on the marble floors. Keenan watched her walk away for a few seconds and saw her make the same irate noises at the other tourists that had been trailing behind him further back.

Keenan turned to the lobby and passed by several large monuments carved from stone that almost seemed out of place in the expansive room. He appraised the attention to detail and made a note to take some pictures of them once he finished checking in. 

In the middle of the lobby there was a long desk made of a gorgeous looking redwood. The front had some sort of native scene carved into it. There were the telltale curves of crashing waves that were stippled into the surface of the wood and were portrayed licking against an island covered in trees that extended up to the surface of the desk.

Seeing no one standing around, Keenan kneeled down to get a better view at the details that could only have been carved by hand. Every leaf had their veins and the fruits were heart shaped and glossy from wood polish. Standing on the edge of the beach under the waves incoming were strange bipedal beasts with paws and tails, scales and horns of all shapes and sizes. Their limbs were positioned in over the top dramatic poses as they looked to be dancing with people covered from head to toe in tattoos.

He looked at one of the figures dancing and the light of the room flickered over the shape of the body. The eyes were sunken and sad despite the large curled smile on their face and Keenan was in the midst of reaching forward to run a thumb over the wooden carving when he heard the sound of a throat clearing. Jolting from his crouched position, Keenan almost cracked his head on the edge of the desk and he apologized profusely as he got back up.

Where no one had been seconds ago, there was now a man in dark green slacks and matching vest standing there with an amused look in his eyes. The man adjusted the cuffs on his pressed shirt and tilted his head like an owl. He was very finely dressed and his dreads were so blonde, it was almost white in the light of the lobby. His hair stood out bright and bold against his dark skin and eyes. 

The man crossed one hand crossed over the other and moved to lean in a half bow over the desk, watching Keenan with a curious quirk of his brow. “Good afternoon sir. I apologize to have interrupted your examination but we would appreciate if you did not touch the displays you see unless there are signs stating otherwise.” His voice was a deep baritone that sounded like the brewing of a storm and Keenan turned red like a child caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.

“Yes of course. I’m sorry. I’ll keep that in mind from now on.” Keenan glances around, his eyes darting about nervously as the man before him did not respond after that. There was a long moment of silence that trailed on before he cleared his throat and continued with his inquiry. “Right, well. I’m here to check in.”

“Of course. I will need to see your ticket beforehand.” The receptionist took the paperwork once it was handed to him and eyed it as he tapped a few things into the computer hidden behind the desk. A few minutes passed in silence and Keenan started to grow restless. He wiped his sweating palms on his jeans and rocked back and forth on the heels of his shoes. The man seemed to pick up on his nervous behavior because he paused in his typing to look at him. “Sir is everything alright?”

“Yes yes. I just... have… to… go to the washroom.” Keenan cleared his throat and looked at the man who glanced back with an expression he couldn't decipher. He smiled to try to back up his words but his heart plummeted as the man asked the question he had feared the entire time.

“Sir, may I please see a piece of i.d?” The receptionist extended a hand out with the palm upwards as he waited for it to placed in his hand. His nails were painted a metallic silver and shone in the candlelight.

“About that..”

The receptionist did not falter or move. He stayed there with his hand out, not moving an inch. He continued to blink slowly at Keenan as if waiting for a further explanation.

“I lost it.. I…” Keenan swallowed heavily at the man’s unwavering stare and hung his head dejectedly. There was no point in lying anymore. If they searched him, they would find his passport anyways. He had been caught. He ought to own up to it while he could still walk away and not in handcuffs. “Ok, I have my passport. Give me a second.”

He reached into his bag with trepidation and after a long sigh he placed it into the man’s hands, watching him set it on the desk. He could see curiosity in the receptionist eyes as he read the name printed on top and then reread it as the one on the passport and the ticket were not the same.

“Sir, am I correct in assuming that you are not Sam Thorne?”

“I.. Yes.” Keenan took a breath and leaned forward to try and make his case as the man reached for the phone. “L-Look.. My friend won this contest and he couldn’t show up. We didn’t want it to go to waste and he thought I deserved the vacation.. Does it really matter that it has to be him? I’m sure if you call him he can vouch for me.”

“That’s not how these type of things work. The gift is given to a very specific individuals. If people just decided to give it to anyone then there would be no purpose to us doing things this way.” The man at the front desk reached for the phone and dialed a number, eyes never leaving the passport before him. “I’m sorry. But rules are in place for a reason. Please remain here while I contact my supervisor.”

Keenan deflated and backed off from the counter, shoulders drooping as he realized his vacation was ending before it even started. He lowered his gaze to the ground and awaited for security to drag him off.

“Yes, sir. I apologize for the interruption. An incident has arisen in regards to one of our visitors. Mr. Thorne has not arrived at the front desk. A friend has arrived in his stead.” The receptionist spoke into the phone quietly, head tilted down to keep his voice from carrying across the room. “Yes sir. That is correct.”

The man tucked the phone between the crook of his shoulder to grab a pen and twirled in between his fingers as he retrieved a pad of paper. “Well yes. I have him right here at the front desk as a matter of fact. He arrived with all of Mr.Thorne’s paperwork aside from his passport which belongs to him.” He scribbled something on the paper and made a few non-committal noises as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. 

“A Keenan Mosimann.” The receptionist spelled his name out and continued to tap on the pad of paper with the tip of his pen.

There was another lengthy pause that had Keenan sweating nervously before the man looked up at Keenan. He was a shaky mess under the dark gaze of the receptionist. He was worried about security being called at any given moment. Or even worse, the police. What was the policy on arrested criminals on this island? Would they simply throw him into a cell and leave him to rot until Sam got worried enough to come looking for him?

“Alright thank you. I will let him know.” Once the phone was hung up, the man made a few more notes on the paper and began typing something out on the computer. He held up the passport and glanced back between that and the screen as he worked. 

The only sound was the tapping of keys and Keenan wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans again before giving the receptionist a curious look. His mouth was open but no sound came out. The only thing he could manage was a fingernail on the top of the desk to try and get the man’s attention. Once he looked up, Keenan made a weak noise in the back of his throat before he continued in a weak tone. “Am I under arrest?”

“Under arrest?” At the nod he received, the receptionist shook his head and held up a single finger to bring his panicking to rest. He typed one handedly and the printer next to him began to hum as it powered on. He tore the piece of paper he had been writing on from the pad and slid it into the passport before he closed it and placed it back on the table. “No sir, you are not under arrest.”

“Then what’s happening? Wait, your giving me my passport back?” Keenan didn’t wait even a second before taking it back. He held it close to his chest and looked down to ensure it was really there before looking back up with confusion in his gaze. 

The receptionist grabbed the two pages once they finished printing and flapped them back and forth in his hand twice to cool them off. He placed them on the desk and with a tented hand, rotated it to face Keenan. The paperwork was an exact replica of the ones that Sam had to print out at his place when he had won the content. It had all the information in regards to what the month long vacation entailed. The only difference was the name at the top. Keenan’s full name was in place of Sam’s.

“There will be an assistant by shortly to take you to your room. This ticket here is for your luggage. Be sure to give that to them when they show up and they will bring up your bags to your room.” The reception continued to speak even as Keenan made a few weak noises as he tried to interrupt. “I’ve included the schedule for the monthly events that will be taking place and a map of all the attractions across the island. Please memorize your room number and-”

Keenan slapped his hand a little harder on the desk and the man stopped talking, his mouth closing and he gave him a long look with a quirked brow. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt but.. I don’t understand. Moments ago you were about to throw me off the island. You’re saying that I can stay now? What’s changed?”

The receptionist glanced to his left as a woman in a long green dress walked in and he made a gesture with his head for her to come closer. While she was in the middle of walking over, he directed his attention back to his guest. “Yes. I assure you that everything has been taken care of. It’s a lot more paperwork for me-” He trailed off, his lips falling into a stern line before he continued. “-but everything is in order. Enjoy your vacation Mr. Mosimann.”

Keenan still looked like he wanted to argue further but the woman suddenly appearing beside him drew his attention away. He was startled by how close she was to him and had to resist the desire to take a full step back to open up the distance between them. Uh.. Hi?”

“Hello I’m Nori. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She only stood up to his chest but didn’t seem bothered by his height. Her hair was half buzzed while the other half covered in wavy curls of green hair that framed her cheeks and chin. She grinned bright and invitingly, a hand reaching forward to take his even before he had a chance to offer his. After a short shake, she retracted her hand and knitted her fingers together in front of her chest. “I’m your assistant for today. I’ll take you up to your room and give you a little tour on the way. How does that sound?” She looked over at the receptionist and gave him a cheeky grin, getting an eye roll and frown in response. “I’ll take things from here Nii~”

“Uh, yeah.. That sound great.” Keenan didn’t know how he felt about the short woman who seemed all too excited over the prospect of leading him around the hotel. He recalled something and turned back to take the paperwork left on the table. After a bit of sorting, he found the paper for his luggage and offered it to Nori. “This is supposed to be for my bags.”

She took it but didn’t even give it a glance, instead smiling up at him with a knowing look on her face. She made a gesture with one hand towards the hallway leading further into the hall and began walking away. “Oh I already took your bags up to your room Keenan.”

Keenan sputtered and caught up with her, hiking his backpack further up his shoulder. He didn’t have to take many steps to catch up to her due to his height but she was still fast for being tiny and had already pressed the button to the elevator once he was at her side. He pointed at her with the bundle of papers in his hand and gave her a narrow look. “Wait- What? How did you- I have so many questions.”

“Did you know Keenan means ‘ancient’? Like an old soul or ancient being, long lived and reborn again.” She asked, not looking over. Nori seemed to be more focused on the chip in her seaweed green nailpolish. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal a mirrored backing and glass walls. “So that’s interesting. We don’t see many Keenans anymore. I wonder why that is..”

Nori stepped into elevator unbothered by how disturbed her charge looked and pressed a button. The door began to slide closed but she stopped it with her hand once she noticed Keenan hadn’t moved from the lobby since she had spoken. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Keenan shook himself free from whatever feeling had been building up in his chest and he walked into the elevator, eyeing the two rows of buttons before him. One of them was lit up indicating where they were going. Once the doors closed again, he was surprised when instead of going up the elevator began to move downwards. He could feel the pit in his stomach growing as he looked out the window and saw the lit up walls transition to stone, getting further and further away the more they went down. 

His fears suddenly caught up to him as he recognized the floral that was starting to crop up in the view and he caught movement in the dark blue around him. There were fish everywhere. Keenan almost sank to his knees right then and there at the sight of the ocean all around him. They were going under the water.

“Here we are. This is your floor so make sure to remember that when you-” Nori stepped out of the elevator but stopped walking when she saw that he hadn’t joined her yet. She turned to see Keenan standing there looking white like a sheet and eyeing an eel that had decided the make the coral near the glass wall his home. “Keenan?” 

At the sound of his name, he looked up and practically took off in a sprint to get out of the elevator. He pressed his back to the wall and let out the breath he had been holding. Sweat was at his brow and his eyes were unfocused and darting back and forth as he tried to calm himself down. Keenan felt a hand brush against his shoulder and looked down to see his guide giving him a strange look. Her lip was pursed in contemplative expression.

“Are you alright? You’re not claustrophobic, are you?” Nori inquired with a tilt of her head. Her eyes were wide in worry and she was glancing around as if looking for someone to help her. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

Keenan shook his head at that. “No, it’s not the space. I just don’t really like.. fishy things.” He finished lamely, not really knowing how to explain his fear of the ocean and fish without sounding silly. “I don’t know. Just something about wide open bodies of water give me the creeps.”

“And you thought coming to an island surrounded completely by water was a good idea?” The worry Nori once showed was immediately replaced by amusement at his admission. She knitted her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands, grinning at him with a cheshire smile. “That’s one hell of a way to conquer your fears, Keenan.”

“Yeah?! Well I wasn’t exactly expecting my hotel room to be underwater!” Keenan snapped before immediately feeling guilty. He scratched at the back of his neck and looked away. Nori didn’t seem bothered and shrugged at him but he still felt bad for how he had treated her. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“It’s fine. I’m just worried about how you’ll be reacting once we get you settled in.” She walked a few doors down and indicated with a hand towards room 3-16. Once Keenan was next to her, she pointed at the bundles of papers he was carrying.

“What do you mean?” He asked, dropping his backpack so he could go through all the fliers and papers till he found the key card stored inside his passport. The card was a metallic silver and didn’t have any words or designs on either side. Aside from being thin, light and bendable like a keycard, there were no other indications that was what it was. He held the card to the reader next to the door and the light flashed green, a little happy beep signalling that the handle was now unlocked.

Nori shrugged again and took hold of the handle before he did. She smiled and pressed a nail to her cheek as she spoke. “Oh nothing. It’s just.. Well, If you didn’t like the elevator. You're definitely not going to like your room.” With that, she opened the door and stood to the side so he could enter first.

Keenan stepped into the blue room. He was a little uneasy by the wallpaper, it looked far too much like water for his liking. The wavy feeling of the lights was nice and calming though, like rolling of waves overhead. He was trying to keep an open mind to the concept of being underwater when he saw a flicker of yellow go across the far back wall. Once standing fully in the room he realized several facts and had he been holding his bag still, he would have dropped it in an instance. 

His room wasn’t painted to look blue like the ocean. It was the ocean. More specifically, the walls were glass allowing him to see the endless deep before him. There was some buildup of floral life on the rocky edge that his room was angled off of but other than that and the few fish drifting around, there was nothing but expanses of blue. There were no artificial lights on in his room. The light that he had been seeing was a refraction from the water's surface.

The room had been marketed in the flier as a ‘splendid getaway’ from all forms of outside human contact. Keenan almost laughed as he realized that it hadn’t been fanciful words on a page. It really was an escape from any sort of civilization above several feet of water.

“This is one of our exclusive rooms. It’s one of the more popular options among visitors.” Nori recited off the top of her head, walking in to stand next to Keenan. There were no walls separating the rooms, just a single step in the floor the lead up to an observatory type dining area. But there was one section that was like a black box. Nori pointed out that single separated room that was made of walls that weren’t glass. Looked like it was the only private place that wasn’t visible from the water. “That’s the bathroom, obviously. There’s a storage in there for all your toiletries. Towels get replaced every two days so anything you throw in the basket will be cleaned and returned by the end of the day.”

Nori walked past the queen sized bed and pointed at it and the small side tables positioned around it. The bed had a grandiose sheer curtains that started at the four corners and tied up at a single point in the glass ceiling. There were strings of elegant beads that wound and hung off the curtains. Each of them shone silver against the blue of the ocean around them. “Sleeping quarters. Duh. That phone there has a direct line to housekeeping and front desk.” She passed by the bed and swiped one of the candies that had been left by room service and gave Keenan a little wink, popping the mint chocolate in her mouth. She was unabashing in her actions, almost like a younger sibling and only grinned as he rolled his eyes at her.

“And finally the sitting area. Your bags are all right here. I have no idea what you packed but they’re heavy.” The front of the room was made entirely of smooth glass that curved slightly to give the window the appearance of a bubble. The main portion of the floor went up one step as it led to the dining area that was furnished with two loveseats and a table in the middle. There was a tablecloth that had a nautical map design stitched across the dark blue material in gold threading. Keenan couldn’t refrain from running a thumb over the beautiful fabric. If it wasn’t for the fact that the room was completely and terrifyingly submerged under water, this would have been a dream vacation for him. 

Just like Nori had stated before, his two suitcases were sitting innocently next to one of the loveseats like they had always been there. “And with that, I’ll let you get settled into your room. I can only assume how tired you are. I’ll be back in the morning to give you a tour. How does that sound?”

Keenan looked over at her and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Despite his disgruntled words, he wore a little smile at the thought of getting to see more of the island around him. “More underwater segments I presume? What’s next? Atlantis?”

She shrugged again with that little smirk on her face. “Don’t ask, don’t tell~” She backed out the room and closed the door in front of her after giving a final playful wave of her hand.

**

Keenan sat on the edge of his bed and let loose a sigh, fingers pinching at his brow in exasperation. Just what did he get himself into. Here he was in a glass room underwater at an island in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but waves and seafoam. If Sam was here, he would be laughing his ass off at the position he was now in. His friend was one of the only people he knew that was aware of his thalassophobia so knowing that he had willingly allowed himself to be flown to the middle of nowhere where he was surrounded by deep water would have garnered an embarrassing reaction from his friend.

He looked around his room to see a little gift basket sitting on his side table innocently. Keenan shuffled down the length of his bed so he was sitting next to it and he lifted the small paper out of the woven basket. The paper was dark blue with the hotel name embossed on the top. He rose a brow and flipped it in his hands to see a more personal message written in what he assumed was silver metallic marker. Keenan traced the edges of the paper as he read the swirling cursive out loud.

“Keenan, we hope you enjoy your stay. With kind regards from hotel management.” 

Strange, even the basket had his actual name on it. He put the card next to the table and lifted the basket, plopping it down on his lap. There was a lot of seafoam coloured wrapping paper and sparkles that were nuzzled around a few bottles of various scented shampoos and conditioners. He popped the cap open on one and sniffed, taking in the rich scent of peppermint. The liquid inside was sparkly and he rotated the bottle in his hands before setting it down next to his hip.

The basket still felt heavy on his lap so Keenan dug in under all the wrapping paper. He had to forage down past the brightly coloured paper but underneath he finally found his prize. Keenan retrieved some mint chocolate bars in a pretty box, a beaded bracelet made of glass and crackers in a box.

Keenan opened the box of crackers and pulled one out. He laughed to himself at the shape of them. They were flat but baked in the shape of a fish with the details of the scales and fins pressed into it. It was kind of cute looking. Keenan laid back on his bed, holding up the fish cracker to the glass window in front of him. He took a picture of his hand holding it up like it was swimming in the ocean and was about to send it when he realized one thing. He didn’t have any signal from how deep under the water he was. How was he supposed to get onto Twitter without service? Keenan groaned and flopped backwards and rested a forearm over his eye. 

“Dammit.. This vacation just keeps getting worse and worse.” He grumbled, shoving fish shaped crackers into his mouth until he got tired of playing offline games on his phone and he curled up onto his side to fall asleep on his bed. For being under the water, there were hardly any sounds coming from outside. It was quite content. If he just pushed the fear of the unknown depths to the back of his mind, it was peaceful. Keenan fell asleep above his blanket, his hand still holding his phone and cracker crumbs all around him.

***

Keenan remembered the first time he had ever seen the ocean. Not by his own two eyes but from the tv he had been seated in front of when he was a child. He was ten years old, sitting cross legged in the living room while his babysitter was making him something to eat in the kitchen. She had left the Animal channel on and he watched with unbridled fascination at the large roaming beasts that made large migrating journeys across huge bodies of water. It was a world breaking concept for him, a ten year old child, witnessing such a large creature able to throw themselves so high up into the air.

The men on the boats would be standing back from the edges so they didn’t get sprayed as the whale would come so close to the boat. Like a gentle giant, they’d waggle their little fins in the general direction of the camera and Keenan would find himself waving back.

“What are you waving at?” His babysitter asked, bringing his sandwich into the room. She placed it down on the table and sat on the couch to see what he had been watching on the tv.

“I’m watching a show about the whales.” Keenan climbed onto the chair and grabbed the sandwich with both hands. He took a bite of his sandwich and placed it back down on the plate. “Did you know that whales singing is a mystery that even scientists don’t understand? They don’t know how they are capable of singing. Their vocal cords are so much different than people.”

“That’s nice.” His babysitter responded distractedly, already on her phone. Her bubblegum cracked as she lounged across the couch texting, barely listening as he talked.

“Yeah it’s really cool!” Keenan didn’t seem to care that she was just humouring him and kept talking about the big whales in the oceans, naming them off as the different types were shown on the screen. He continued to munch happily on his food when suddenly a sound caught his attention and he paused to listen to it. It was a deep harmonious noise that drifted heavily in the air from the tv. Keenan turned so he was seated on his knees and he rested his arms on the back of the chair. He watched the footage of two whales swimming underwater, singing loud and proud to each other.

The sight was beautiful. One day he’d love to see it for himself. Maybe if he did good in class, he could ask his mom and dad to take him to the beach. Maybe he’d see them out in the distance swimming and jumping out of the water without a care in the world, untied to land around them. He smiled at that thought. Maybe one day he’d be able to hear the whale songs for himself.

When he was younger, the ocean wasn’t so scary. It was so big and expansive. People were making advances on land everyday. They were cataloguing animals and making strides to better the medical and technical industries. But the ocean? So much of it was untapped and unexplored. Everyday more and more people were turning their gaze to the ocean and every day, the questions were the same. What is really hidden down there? Keenan was one of them wondering that. 

The ocean used to be so big and bright and amazing. But to see it up close. To experience it. To fall into its depths and feel the cold seeping into every pore and choking out the air in your lungs. The light that was once so beautiful was growing more distance the further you fell. Bubbles floating from blueing lips and hands outstretched, trying to reach the surface with trembling fingers. But gravity refuses to let go and you keep falling down… down… down……...down.

***

Keenan shot up from his bed, drenched in sweat and cheeks wet with tears. He reached up and furiously began scrubbing away the streaks with a sleeve. It had been years since he had woken up crying in the middle of the night. The alarm on his phone was still going off and he clicked it off. He had forgotten to shut off his 6am alarm for work when coming here and he was regretting that. Keenan almost decked it across the room in tired irritation before coming to the conclusion that maybe people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Instead he sat up and walked over to his suitcase to retrieve his charger. After walking around his room for a few minutes, he finally located the hidden outlet underneath his bedside table. The phone dinged once he plugged it in and he sat back down on the bed, wiping crumbs off as best as he could. Housekeeping was definitely going to have a few words with him after this, he dreaded that thought. 

Keenan leaned forward to turn on the bedside lamp but didn’t see any switches or buttons on it. He tapped the metal with a finger and it lit up. “Awesome.” He tapped it again and it went up in brightness a tad. Once more and the light it produced was bright enough to fill the whole room. The edges of the glass walls reflected perfectly from the light and gave the whole place an ethereal sort of feel from under the canopy curtains of his bed. Things were a lot less scary when you could see everything around you.

He pressed the lamp once more time and at that, the lamp went out. Everything was suddenly dark and ominous and the smile that he had been wearing was replaced by a grimace. The surface was producing a bit of light as the sun was coming up but not enough to push the fear and tripedition hiding in the corners of his room along with the shadows. He didn’t know if it was his mind playing tricks on him but he was so sure that there was someone there.

Their shape was illuminated barely by the endless blue of the ocean behind them. They didn’t move or approach him but the waves seemed to lick at the figure form, causing them to shift every so gently with the current. Keenan felt his breath stutter as he traced the edge of the glass wall with his eyes. The bottom of the glass ended a few feet in front of the dark silhouette of the person standing there. They were not in his room but maybe that was even worse as their palm lifted up in a leisurely slow motion to touch the surface from the outside. They were outside his room. They were reaching for him. They were-

With a scared peep, Keenan threw himself backwards and rolled onto his belly so he could reach his only source of light. He practically slammed his hand on the lamp, hitting it three times to get it to light back up again. Once things were bright again, he turned to face where to figure had once been to see that it was gone. His breathing was heavy and his head was reeling. Keenan’s limbs felt sluggish as he crawled back out of the bed and slowly he walked across the room towards the wall that he had seen the figure at.

He rubbed the back of his hand along his cheek again in a nervous gesture and he finally got close enough to touch the glass. His eyes darted back and forth but he didn’t see anything or anyone out there. Even the fish he had seen when he first arrived were not there anymore. Relieved and yet a bit disappointed, Keenan turned to go back to bed. He needed a few more hours of sleep before his insane guide decided to drag him around the island in the morning.

Keenan crawled into bed, this time kicking off his shoes and crawling under the covers. He left the light on at the dimmest setting and curled up into a protective ball, making himself as small as he could under the blankets. He fell asleep, the back of his mind keenly aware of the handprint that was still on the glass window.

***

“Knock knock!” 

Keenan heard the sound of someone at his door and lifted his head up to look where his alarm clock would be before he remembered where he was. Right, he wasn’t at home. He was at the bottom of the ocean.. He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head, no longer caring what time it was anymore. No time was the right time to deal with the goddamn ocean. “Go away..”

“Knock knock~” The voice was female and was definitely the same woman from yesterday. Her knocking went from polite taps to loud rapping that picked up as she got her other hand involved and from the sounds of things, was kicking the door as well. “Mr. Keenan! Time to wake up..”

He grumbled and rolled over so he was facing away from the door. His grip on the pillow tightened the louder the knocking got. “Why do I always have to get the crazies.. I just want to sleep forever.” He bemoaned loudly, knowing that Nori could hear him.

“Nonsense. You can’t say that. You haven’t even see the rest of the island yet.” She had given up on knocking and instead was drumming her nails over the surface with both hands. As she spoke, her voice was muffled as if she had pressed her face close to the door. “C’mon, the buffet is going to be opening soon and I want kolaches!”

Keenan lifted the pillow from his head and let out a long defeated noise. His phone said that it was only eight in the morning, still far to early for his liking but he doubted the lady at the door was going to let him go back to sleep anytime soon. Besides, maybe she is right. He might actually enjoy himself more if he finds something to do on the island to pass the time. “Is there coffee?”

“Is there coffee…” Nori repeated, sounding incredulous at the idea that they would not have those highly addictive caffeinated drinks. “Is the sky not blue, my good sir?”

“Give me five minutes. I need to get dressed.” He sat up and rolled his shoulders, wincing as the bright light from his phone screen momentarily blinded him. He still didn’t have surface down here. Maybe he’d be able to call Sam once he got upstairs, if not on his phone then maybe at the reception desk.

There was the sound of heels clicking just outside his door as Nori paced back and forth. “Ok, but I’m timing you.”

“Jesus, what is this? A vacation or boot camp? I said I’ll be out.” Keenan dragged his suitcase across the room and set it on his bed. He unzipped it and dug around inside till he found a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that looked like they’d be good in the warm weather. He stepped into the dark washroom and flicked on the light, almost startling at the sight of the bathrobe hanging on the hook behind the door. Keenan gave the offending article of clothing a glare and pulled it off the hook, tossing it out into the hallway with an angry huff. He was already jumpy enough as it is, he didn’t need this crap from housekeeping as well.

He tore open the complimentary toothbrush from its wrapped and brushed his teeth, trying to collect his thoughts as the water from the tap filled the room with some sort of noise. Keenan ran a thumb along his chin at the beard that was starting to grow out of its groomed state. He should have brought his clippers but he doubted the airport security would have allowed him to get on board with them in his bag. Turning off the hot water, he stayed for a long moment with both hands resting on the sink. The steam had filled the bathroom and fogged up the mirror the longer he had been in there but he hardly minded at all. 

Keenan wiped the mirror clean and returned his toothbrush back to its holder. He gave himself a little smile, running a hand through his hair to try and get his bedhead to look some semblance of neat. A few seconds of trying later, he gave up on the whole endeavor and stepped back out of the bathroom, almost tripping on the bathrobe that he had thrown out their earlier. He was contemplating grabbing a pair of flip flops instead of wearing his sneakers when the knocking at the door picked back up again. “Ok, ok.. I’m coming.”

He wiped the steam off his glasses and rested them back on the bridge of his nose before wandering around his room to gather his belongings. Once he grabbed his phone and wallet, remembering to slide the keycard inside as he did so, he opened the front door to address the woman looking at him with a cheery grin. 

“This better be some damn good coffee, that’s all I’m saying.” Keenan grumbled and passed by Nori, closing the door behind him before she got nosey and stuck her head in. He slid his wallet into his back pocket and adjusted his watch while walking, taking the lead the way back to the elevator.

Nori pressed the button once they got there and turned to face him, her two index fingers pressed against each other as she pouted. At Keenan’s raised brow, she let out a little huff and tapped a heeled toe on the granite floor. “And after all the trouble I went to, I don’t even get one compliment on how I look?” She did a slow spin to show off her uniform.

Keenan tilted his head at that. He really hadn’t noticed the change, too busy rushing to get out the door but now he could see that she was in a dress shirt and tie with a vest and slacks the colour of seaweed. On anyone else, the colours might have been too excessive but Nori seemed to pull off the eccentric look with the matching hair and nails. “Oh. Yeah, you look nice. Murky green.. Seriously, is green like a thing here or something?”

“We live in the tropics. Of course our uniforms reflect that.” Nori responded to his playful jab with an eye roll but appeared pleased as punch at the compliment. She adjusted the collar of her vest and puffed her chest out in pride. She looked about to say more on the subject but the elevator doors slide open and she instead made a gesture for Keenan to go first. “Shall we?”

The travel upwards wasn’t as bad as the first time he took the elevator down. It got easier especially when he saw natural light overhead once they were in the lobby. Keenan let out the breath he didn’t know that he had been holding and walked around as Nori went up ahead to grab something from the front desk. He gave her a quizzical look but she just rose a finger at him and walked backwards, almost bumping into another guest as she did so. 

“Stay here. I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

Keenan rolled his eyes at her eccentric behavior before shaking his head. Maybe he could take this time to take a picture of the carvings that he had seen when he had first arrived. He approached the stone figure that started from the ground and rose up to the ceiling, sprouting up and open like vines reaching up the heavens. There were thousands of perfect blossoms stretching along the branches, the skylight allowing the sun to dip into each bump and groove of the sculpture as if that alone could cause the flowers to actually bloom. As he got close enough, he noticed something strange about the base of the figure. There was a full inch diameter around the bottom that was the exact same stone as the sculpture before it expanded out naturally into the marble flooring that the rest of the lobby was made of. 

It didn’t look like the carving had been brought inside the lobby. It looked more like the room had been built around it. Keenan was impressed by that feat. Someone must have gone to great lengths to preserve this piece of history. He did a full rotation around the sculpture trying to find some sort of plaque to explain the meaning behind such an old looking statue but found nothing helpful. He was just raising up his phone to take a picture when a shrill voice startled him from behind.

“Bougainvilleas.” It was the same elderly woman that he had almost bumped into when he first showed up. He had assumed that from the direction she was going that she was heading off the island but now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe she was a local?

Keenan lowered his phone and turned to face her completely. He shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other, hoping that he wasn’t in trouble for trying to take a picture. There wasn’t exactly a sign saying that he couldn’t. But then again, there hadn’t been a sign at the front desk telling him not to touch the carving there either and he was told off for attempting to do so. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“It symbolizes devotion and family. Because of that it grows in bunches.” She tapped her wooden cane once and her sun baked cheeks stretched into what he assumed was a smile. It looked more like a painful grimace but the whooping laugh that spilled from her lips threw that assumption out the window. “Bougainvilleas. Bunches of little ones here and there. All over the island. Most leave but some stay.”

“Leave? Where do they go?” Keenan was curious despite his flight or flight instincts tickling the back of his head. He gave her a polite smile as she tucked her cane under one arm and reached her hands up towards him in the telltale ‘gimme’ gesture. She curled her fingers as if waiting for him to place something in hers. “I don’t understand. What do you want? I don’t have any money..”

She teddered once and looked irritated at his words but defiantly kept herself upright as she looked up at him through a squinting gaze. “Your hands. Give me your hands.” She punctuated each word like she was speaking to a child and finished it off with a long whistling huff.

“Oh.” Keenan tucked his phone in his pocket and placed his palm in hers. It must have been a humorous scene to see from an outsider's perspective. A gangly man standing over six feet tall, bending awkwardly down to offer his hands to a granny that hardly hit five feet. The reality of the situation started to hit him the minute the woman intertwined their fingers in a tight grip and the only thing that could come to mind was ‘what have I gotten myself into?’.

She looked at their hands and hummed again before giving his hands a hard tug. Keenan was put off balance, not expecting the strength to come from such an old woman. He stumbled forward and fell to one knee before her, now at perfect eye level. She tilted her head and her cracked lips curled into a wide smile revealing yellowed teeth.

Keenan’s eyes went wide as she cackled in amusement and released his hands to take hold of his glasses. He reached forward with one hand to stop her but he paused at the delicate way she folded them up and tucked them into his shirt collar. The situation was a confusing one and he was in the midst of stuttering out an awkward excuse to leave when warm palms encapsulated his face. He shivered despite the warmth and the hands curled along his cheeks as if following invisible guidelines.

“You’re an old soul. Touched by the depth.” She murmured, voice coming out in a strange harmonious whine. Keenan lifted his hands up and tried to pull her hands away but she was spry for an old woman and wouldn’t let go. He let out a weak noise and turned his head trying to seek out Nori but all the shapes around the room were blurry. The elderly woman in front of him was in sharp focus. She hummed again and for the first time ever, Keenan caught sight of eyes under the folds of her brows. They were the brightest blue he had ever seen, like perfectly round gems glimmering in the light of the lobby. His plea for help died on his tongue at the sight and his mouth fell agap. They were so deep. Like the depths of the ocean, he felt like he was falling deeper and deeper… 

“What are you doing!?” A voice called out in the distance and Keenan swallowed heavily as the hands suddenly let go of his face. He felt weak and collapsed completely onto both knees. His skin felt scolding hot like it was on fire and he desperately sought out his glasses, pulling them on with shaking hands. He looked up to see the elderly woman with her back to him, now facing Nori who had an angry expression on her usually cheerful face. “We’ve been through this before! Stop pestering the visitors.”

She began making a shooing motion towards the older woman who was in the midst of trying to explain her reasoning. Nori wasn’t hearing any of it and clicked her tongue, pointing down a hallway that Keenan hadn’t been down yet. “Go back to your room Baba.”

“But he was willing. I know he is seeking.. I simply wanted to guide-” The elderly woman tapped her cane on the ground in a final act of defiance but she was interrupted yet again by Nori who tapped her heel back as if in response.

“I am his guide. Not you.” She walked over to Keenan and gave him a forced smile. Despite being as small as she was, she managed to help him back to his feet and supported most of his weight as she lead him away from the crazed woman still murmuring in the lobby. “Go home.” 

Nori’s tone dipped dangerously low and Keenan winced at the feel of her nails digging into the sleeve of his shirt. What was it with the people here? They were all so deceptively strong despite being small and elderly. 

Just as they were walking away, Keenan heard it. He took a deep breath and felt his vision swam at the familiar noise. It was a groan that carried in the air like the slow crashing of waves against molasses. He almost stumbled in Nori’s grip as she led him further away from the tune slowly enrapturing him. The whale song was like a ghost that followed him long after they were out of the hotel and on the boardwalk that followed along the edge of the beach.

***

“Keenan?” He glanced up from his dizzy spell and glanced around in confusion. He was sitting on a wooden bench with his bare feet against the warm sand and there was something cold in his hands that made a jingling sound. Looking down, he saw a glass of water clenched in shaking hands. The noise was the ice cubes hitting the sides. “Hey, Keenan?”

Following the sound of his name, he looked up to see a worried Nori kneeled before him. Her hand was rested on his knee, her other hand held a cellphone. His cellphone to be exact. “I.. W-what happened?” Keenan made an attempt to get up but his legs didn’t listen to him and he only managed to get halfway before he landed back on the bench again. He looked down at himself with disdain. He felt so exhausted all of a sudden. “Why do I feel so tired?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve seen early cases of heatstroke before. I should have been able to catch it before it got so bad but-” Nori glanced away and held up one delicate hand to her mouth as if trying to hold back tears. “-I took my eyes off of you for a second. I’m sorry.”

“Heat stroke..” Keenan did feel a tad bit hot but how could that be so? He hadn’t even gone outside yet. Was that even possible? He ran a hand across his brow and squinted down at the beads of sweat gathered there. “But the woman.. What about her.”

“Never mind that old coot. She’s still clinging to old ways that we’ve left behind years ago.” Nori’s expression suddenly shifted from mourning to agitated. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked back at him with an upset tick of her brow. Her entire stance had shifted into a defensive one. “She thinks her age means she can do whatever she wants. It’s pathetic really..”

The change in behaviour was so dramatic that Keenan leaned back and inhaled deeply. That feeling of fight or flight was kicking in again and he wanted nothing more than to be away from the insanity that was slowly encroaching on him. This place was supposed to be paradise, a getaway from all the stress. But right now, it was doing just the exact opposite. Keenan grabbed his head with both hands and let out a long exhale. 

“Can I please go back to my room? I’m really not… feeling up to walking around the island.”

Nori looked at him confused, hands brushing imaginary dust of her vest before her fingers interlocking in front of her. “Are you sure? I did promise you breakfast and coffee. I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better once you get some foo-”

“No please. I want to go back.” Keenan shook his head and the migraine did not like that, the pain throbbing at the movement. “Just deliver my food to my room. I can’t do this right now.”

“But there’s an art installation nearby and there’s the Mirage lookout point just up there. I was going to bring you to the bird conservatory and..” She trailed off, giving a pained smile as she realized that he could not be persuaded to change his mind. There was a moment of silence that was only full of crashing waves and seagulls cawing in the distance. After a long pause, Nori sighed and her mood immediately deflated. “Fine.. Do you have any food allergies I should be aware of?”

Keenan shook his head again slower this time. He managed to get up the second time he tried and his legs trembled but they held him up. His toes curled in the sand and he glanced around in confusion for his shoes. They were sitting on the bench next to him, his socks tucked into them. He grabbed them with one hand while the other finished his drink and offered the glass back to Nori. 

She took it and returned his phone to him in response. “Your phone rang while you were sleeping. I thought it was an alarm and was going to turn it off but it was a phone call so I let it go to voicemail.”

Keenan took it without another and glanced down at the screen to see that he had several missed calls from his friend Sam. He clicked redial and balanced the phone in the crook of his shoulder as he walked a few feet behind Nori towards the hotel. There were a few long rings before there was a click as it was picked up.

“Hello?”

Keenan let out a long sigh of relief and felt an overwhelming feeling build up in his chest at the sound of his friend on the other line. “Sam, it’s me.”

“Keenan? Hey! You must be having one hell of a good time over there. I called you quite a few times and you didn’t pick up.” 

Keenan looked over to make sure Nori was far enough in front of him before he leaned his head down to speak more privately into his phone. “That’s just the thing. Look, things are really going-” He noticed two men passing by in hotel uniforms and faked a large grin, looking back and forth between the two of him as he spoke. “-great. It’s been so fun and great and I’m having a good time.”

There was a voice in the background as Sam talked and he laughed. “It sure sounds like it. Oh hold on, someone wants to say hi.” After a few seconds of shuffling, there was another voice on the line. They made an incoherent string of babbling word before Keenan caught on to who sam had passed the phone onto.

“Hey Clarke.. Hey, yes I miss you so much. What’s the word you dad says again? Dinosaur?” Keenan almost bumped into Nori as she stopped and turned to face him. She had a confused expression on her face and pointed at the phone like she was curious about him covering the mouthpiece as he spoke with flustered cheeks. “Uh yes.. raaawr, of course. Hey can you put your daddy back on?”

Nori held both hands to her mouth to cover her giggles at the sight of him roaring into the phone like a dinosaur.

“You won’t believe how big she’s getting. Seriously, when you get back at the end of the month you won’t even recognize her.” Sam had returned to the phone and he made more baby cooing noises before continuing. “So what’s up? You meet anyone special over there yet?”

Keenan pushed the green haired woman away who was trying to nosey in on the conversation. He gave her a frustrated glare and kept her back with one hand and let out a hiss. “Oh yeah, so much fun. It was especially great when I learned my room is under the water!”

“That’s fucking hilarious dude.” Sam laughed at that but didn’t get one in return. After a long silent pause, he seemed to sober up at Keenan’s words and sounded confused. “Wait, you’re not joking?”

“No. My room is a fucking glass box under the water. It’s a goddamn death trap.” He gave Nori one last agitated shove before she finally got the point and left him alone to his conversation. “Apparently according to my bat shit crazy guide all the luxury rooms are down there. I almost had a heart attack once the elevator went below sea level.”

Sam was quiet for a brief moment. “Jesus.. I’m sorry man. I didn’t know that the room would be like that. I know how you are when it comes to water.”

“It’s not the water. It’s-” Keenan walked over to a nearby seat and began putting his socks and shoes back on. He glanced across the room to see Nori standing by the elevator and pouting back at him with arms crossed. “You know what it is. I don’t have to go over this again.”

“I understand. Glad you didn’t get thrown back though. I was half expecting you to call me at the airport asking for a lift back because they caught on that you’re not me.”

Keenan tied up one of his laces and began working on the other shoe. “That’s the thing. I did get caught. Right at reception too.”

“Ouch. What did they say?” Sam sounded distracted as Clarke babbled in the background and there was the sound of shuffling and cereal being poured into a bowl. “Don’t tell me. Your in ocean prison right now and you used your only call on me.”

“No, they just let me stay.” Keenan rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, glancing around the lobby as he spoke. He saw two other people being shown around by other guides but the number of tourists around the lobby had heavily diminished since his arrival here last night. “It’s weird. They were just going to throw me off the island one moment and then next thing I know, everything is alright for me to stay.”

“How is that weird? Sounds like someone pulled some strings to allow you to stay. You ought to tip them for that.”

Keenan pinched his brow and shook his head. “It’s not just that though. My guide is super fucking weird and they keep talking about the meaning behind my name and this weird old lady touched me and-”

“Pfffft..” Sam started to snigger before he even finished his sentence.

“Don’t laugh! It’s not as funny as you think it is. She scared the shit out of me. Grabbed me and forced me onto my knees and-”

Sam whistled low and continued to laugh despite his friend whining at him to stop. “Hey, whatever weird stuff you choose to do on your vacation and with who is your business. I don’t need to hear about you hooking up with the elderly… Even if that’s your thing.”

“It’s not my.. Ugh, you are the worst.” Keenan glared at the sky light and threw his hand up above his head in indignation. “Look. I’m going to go back to my death trap of a room. If you don’t hear from me at the end of the month, know that I drowned.”

“Sure thing buddy. Want me to have you bloated corpse cremated when they send you back over or..?”

Keenan hung up on him and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Despite not getting any sort of helpful reception from his best friend, he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. Hearing from Sam and Clarke had brightened his day up and almost made it worth getting mauled by an elderly woman... almost.

He got up and joined Nori at the elevator, surprised that she didn’t ask any questions when he stood next to her. She was fiddling with her hands and glanced over once or twice but said nothing until they got inside and the door closed behind them. Keenan let out a breath and tilted his head to give her a curious look. ‘Ok, what is it?”

“What?” She asked, not looking at him. Her cheeks were puffed out in agitation.

“What did I do?”

Nori looked over at him with big pouting lips and her index fingers pressing against each other. She huffed and turned to face away from him, staring at the water as they went down several floors. “It’s not what you did.. It’s what you said.”

“What did I say?”

Nori gave him a glacial look before it quickly melted into one of helplessness. “Do you really think I’m ‘bat shit crazy’ as you so nicely put it?”

Keenan sucked air between his teeth and made a weak hissing noise. “Oh, you… heard that.”

“Yeah…” She trailed off. The rest of the elevator ride was in uncomfortable silence as they refused to look at each other. Her toe tapped on the floor of the elevator.

The door made a ding and slid open. Nori took the lead this time and stopped in front of Keenan’s room, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for him to catch up and open his door.

Once the reader was tapped, the door opened and they both stepped in. Nori made a beeline for the phone and found a blank pad of paper and pen in the drawer. “Alright, you don’t have any food allergies. Any dietary restraints? Vegan? Halal?” She was scribbling in circles as she waited for a response.

“Uh, no. Can I make a request though?” Nori rose a brow at him but didn’t say no so he continued. “What kind of sushi do you guys have here?”

“We have maki, sashimi, nigiri, temaki..” She paused but made a motion with her hand like she could go on and on but chose not to. The pen twirled in her hand a few times before she scribbled something in the corner of the notepad and began clicking the back of the pen in quick succession.

Keenan tossed his wallet and phone onto the bed and turned to face Nori. “Nigiri is… fish on top and rice along the bottom right?” He made a gesture with his hand, holding them parallel above each other like two things piled on top of each other.

“That is correct. Well well, a sushi connoisseur?” She couldn’t help the little tug of a smile that fought to show itself. She took note of that and wrote his preference down. “Tuna, salmon, shrimp, halibut, squid?”

“I’m not really. I usually only have shrimp or tuna. Never had squid before actually. So I guess, surprise me.” He responded simply with a shrug. “I really have no specific types that I solely eat.”

“Right..” Nori made note of that and tore the page free from the pad before folding it up and placing into her vest pocket. Once the pad of paper and pen were replaced, she turned to walk out the door but was stopped at the sound of a clearing throat. She glanced over to see Keenan giving her a guilty look.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean it.”

Nori immediately brightened up at that and she smiled happily at him. She poked a cheek and tilted her head to the side in a cute gesture. “It’s fine. Water off my tail is what I always say. I’ll call down to confirm that your food is on its way.” Without another word, she practically skipped out of the room and took hold of the handle to slowly close the door behind her.

Keenan shook his head at her antics and flopped back on his bed with a smile. He looked up through the glass ceiling as what she said to him slowly filled his head. “Off my tail? I always thought it was water off my back..” He shrugged at that and crossed his legs at the ankle, getting comfortable as he waited for his food to arrive. He had only been above ground for an hour or so but he was still so exhausted from heatstroke. Maybe it had something to do with being jet lagged too. Maybe after some food and a good, long rest he’ll feel better. He did want to see the bird conservation that Nori had mentioned earlier.

***


	2. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keenan was like he was a teenager all over again. He felt like he was sneaking out of his room when his parents were asleep to go hang out with friends that he should be. 
> 
> It had Keenan feeling giddy, knowing that he was escaping from under the watchful gaze of his guide. The only regret he had was knowing that if Nori found out that he was exploring the island with her, she’d probably be upset with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there reader, your looking great today. Thank you for reading this. I hope you have a splendid day :)

An hour later and Keenan was lounging around in one of the loveseats, plates and empty containers scattered all over the table. He was holding his stomach with a sated expression on his face, eyes closed and fingers drumming along his stomach. “Wow. that was-” 

His sentence was interrupted by a small hiccup. Keenan had been beyond starved when room service showed up with his food on a tray, practically inhaling the various rolls the minute he got his hands on them. Maybe eating so fast wasn’t good for him but he didn’t know the definition of restraint. “-some damn good sushi.” 

Keenan took a sip from his coffee and leaned back in his seat so he could get more comfortable. He toed aside one of the plates with a socked foot to make room for him to rest his legs. Once his feet were kicked up in a comfortable position and crossed at the ankles, he let out another long, sated sighed and let his eyes flutter shut. 

The entire room was quiet, almost like a sound deprivation chamber. There was no music or white noise in the background at all. The glass had formed a perfect sound barrier between his room and the ocean outside. Keenan had assumed when he first arrived that not hearing the water would make things a lot easier for him to get over his fears but the silence was doing the exact opposite. It was eating at the edges of his thoughts and no amount of distracting himself was helping. The fact that he didn’t have any connection to the internet while under water wasn’t making things easier. How could a premium suite have no access to wifi?

The lack of sound was really starting to affect him. He knew he was under the water no matter how he pretended he wasn’t. He could see the waves if he opened his eyes, he could smell the brine all around him in the sheets and towels. Just because he couldn’t hear another but the soft steady rapping on glass didn’t change the fact that he was fully surrounded by the deep blue ocean.

Tap… Tap…

Wait, that didn’t make any sense. Keenan opened his eyes but didn’t move from his seat. He strained his ears to listen and when the tapping didn’t stop, panic began to set in. There hadn’t been noises like that when he showed up yesterday. What if that sound was the pressure mere inches away from fracturing the glass?

Tap… Tap…

Keenan shot up from the chair and almost tripped from trying to get up so fast. He stumbled forward and caught himself on the table, panting heavily at the sudden shift on his axis. His eyes started darting around wildly expecting cracks to be fracturing across the glass windows but finding none. He pressed a hand to his chest and his breathing was just returning to normal when he heard the tapping again, louder this time and more central. It was coming from the front facing window right beside where the loveseats and table was situated.

The tapping was in a series of three, spaced out evenly with a long pause before it picked back up again. It sounded almost rhythmic and Keenan’s pulse spiked again as he slowly turned to look behind him. His heartbeat was loud in his ears and his palms felt sweaty, fingers clenching till the knuckles turned white. Once he completed the full transition of turning, the breath that he had been holding came out in a long shuddering exhale.

Beyond the glass, swimming just far enough out that their detailed features were obscured from view was a person. The figure was tall and slender and hovering further and further away from the window like they knew they had been caught. It looked almost humanoid but Keenan really couldn’t be sure of that since someone couldn’t possibly be this far down without scuba equipment. And the face. They were the thing that stood out most about the person drifting further away from him like a hazy mirage. 

The part where the eyes would be were a burning yellow that stared at him unblinking as the rest of them seemed to disappear into the depths. Keenan lost sight of the shape but those almond shaped eyes stayed for the longest time before they blinked closed and disappeared too. He approached the glass despite his better judgement and pressed a hand to the window so he could lean in closer. There was nothing out there that he could see, even after adjusting his glasses and squinting. No fish, no fauna. Nothing. Even the refraction of light from the surface of the water only went so deep before cutting out into the darkness in the distance.

“What the fuck was that..” Keenan swallowed heavily and glanced over at his coffee, suspicion creasing his brow. He was starting to think that they put something into his drink. Either that or the whole island was playing one big prank on him because they somehow found out he was nervous around the ocean. If that was the case, he was going to make them regret torturing him so badly. He stomped over to the phone and lifted it off the receiver, glaring at the various numbers left on a card for him. After a few seconds of contemplation, he decided on the front desk and hit the numbers hard as he got more and more agitated. His eyes kept darting over to the window to see if the figure he had seen returned as the phone was ringing.

“Front desk, Kombu speaking. How may I be of service today?” The voice of someone he had never heard of came in loud and clear. He could hear the hum of people in the background talking from how busy the lobby sounded.

Keenan narrowed his eyes at the glass suspiciously before he turned his back to it so he could sit on the edge of his bed. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a long exasperated sigh. “Yes. This is room uh.. 3-16?” He glanced down at the card on the table and nodded to himself confirming the number written at the top left corner. The handwriting was fancy and loopy. It almost looked like Nori’s when she took his food order. She must have wrote everything down for him in case he forgot what room he was in. “Uh yeah… Room 3-16. I’m having a bit of trouble with... someone outside my window?” 

The minute the words came out, Keenan felt like groaning at how stupid it sounded and he didn’t even have a chance to back petal before the voice on the other end of the line let out a long contemplative noise.

“Sir, am I correct in assuming that you have the north-eastern suite below the reef? The bachelor suite that is located several feet under water?” The man sounded tired but at least he was attempting to put on a more polite air then the first receptionist he had spoken to. The first man he met looked like he had been contemplating throwing him off the island himself.

Keenan stood up and began a nervous habit of pacing back and forth, one hand continually running through his hair as his voice got indignant. “Yes and that’s especially why I’m worried. My entire room is glass. How am I supposed to feel comfortable down here when there are people, probably divers tapping on my window?"

"Divers?" 

"Well it has to be. What else could it be? Cause it certainly wasn't a fish." Keenan took his glasses off and wiped at his brow with the back of his sleeve before replacing them on his face again. He twisted the phone cord between his fingers, wrangling it in a nervous gesture.

“Sir.” The receptionist tried to cut in but to no avail.

“Fish don’t look like that.” Keenan untangled his fingers and made a wild sweeping gesture towards the glass wall despite knowing that the man on the other end of the line could not see him. It made him feel better though so he continued to talk with his hands as he got louder. “And I know what you’re thinking. No, I am not insane.”

"Sir.”

“There was someone outside fucking with me and tapping on the window. How am I supposed to sleep knowing that there are people just casually swimming outside my room. My room is made of glass. What if they are watching me while I sleep?” His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. 

“Sir!” The receptionist cut in louder this time. He waited until Keenan had stop rambling and took a deep breath before continuing. “I apologize but I’m going to have to put you on hold.”

“Don’t you dare-” Keenan practically yelled into the phone as he heard a click and suddenly jazz music began to play. He held the receiver in his hand and for a brief period of time, just stood there with a twitching brow. “This is un-fucking-believable.”

Five minutes in and Keenan flopped backwards onto his bed, almost pulling the phone off the side table at the movement. He stared up at the surface of the water through his ceiling and grumbled under his breath. Was the jazz getting louder? It sounded like it was getting louder.

Ten minutes ticked by slowly. In the quiet glass room, it was the only sound that seemed to reverberate off the wall. Keenan was losing his mind from the music and had laid on his stomach, screaming into his pillow to drone out the noise. 

Fifteen minutes and Keenan was starting to contemplate his sanity. His screaming had changed into disgruntled growls and huffs. He was all too prepared to just hang up and go up and yell at the guy in person when the jazz music finally cut off after a few more seconds of him making a noise like an angry walrus. 

“Hello? Sir?”

Keenan practically threw himself at the phone he had settled on the side table and lifted it up to his ear. “Yes? Hello?”

“Hello Keenan, this is Dulse from room management. I have here a complaint from your room that has been forwarded to me from the front desk. Something about divers in the area?”

“Yes! Hi. Dulse, was it?” Keenan received a confirming noise and he continued on, rubbing at his face in irritation. “Hi, I’ve been having problems since I arrived with people swimming outside my room. I have no privacy at all and to make matters worse, they keep tapping on my windows.”

“Problems?” There was the sound of typing in the background as Dulse was most likely working in front of a computer. “Sir? Have you had multiple encounters since your arrival?”

Keenan tapped his lip as he thought on that. “Yes… Or at least I think so? I don’t know.” He didn’t add more, not wanting to include the fact that the first time may have been a nightmare brought on by his thalassophobia. Doing so might make his entire complaint invalid and he knew for a fact that he had seen something this time.

He recalled the yellow dots that had felt like eyes boring into his and changed the subject before things got too off topic. “Do divers wear yellow lights on their suits?”

“I..” The man on the other line sounded as though he were about to say something but changed his mind at the last second. The typing had completely stopped and there was murmuring in the background. “Sir I do have here that there was a scheduled dive session during your arrival and there is one currently going on as well but those are taking place at the northern part of the island near the kelp gully.”

Keenan took a deep breath and looked down at his socked feet, wiggling his toes to distract himself. “Oh.” He responded simply. He didn’t know what else to say. Should he insist that what he saw was real? Would the man believe him?

“That is not to say that someone couldn’t have swam over there but it’s quite a travel with limited air..” Dulse paused as if choosing his words carefully. “Your complaint is still valid though, I assure you. I will certainly have questions for the dive coaches. To think that someone would swim over to your room just to mess with you…. Well, it's unheard of.”

“But I saw..” Keenan’s voice rose an indignant tone before his argument died on his tongue. He let out a weak noise and pinched at his brow again. “...Never mind.”

Dulce made a sympathetic noise. “We at Resonat Mare do our best to ensure that all our visitors feel welcome and safe. I will do the best I can to follow up on this and personally keep you updated on anything that I find. Until then, may I recommend an evening out for the fireworks display that will be taking place tonight?”

Keenan perked up at that. He did like fireworks. “Tonight?”

“Yes sir. At nine tonight. I can call your assistant and they can come collect you. I believe the guide assigned to you is Nori?” The typing picked up again.

“Ah, you know what, that’s suuuuper fine. I’m sure I can make it there on my own.” Keenan almost jumped up at the thought of the eccentric woman dragging him around the beach with her deceptively insane strength. He laughed nervously and interrupted the room manager before he could speak up again. “Nahhhh it’s okay. Really. I’m good but thanks. Oh man, my reception is so bad all of a sudden..”

“Sir I can still hear you fine.” Dulce responded flatly as he seemed to realize what was going on.

Keenan grabbed the notepad and crinkled a piece of paper near the mic. “Such bad reception. The kind where you don’t have to call my crazy guide to come pick me up. Okay, byeee!” He hung up before the man could say anything else and only once his room was filled with silence again, did he let out the breath he had been holding. After a second, he glanced down at his own phone to check the time.

1:00pm

“Nice, I’ve got a few hours to kill.” Keenan was excited like he was a teenager all over again. He felt like he was sneaking out of his room when his parents were asleep to go hang out with friends. It had him feeling giddy, escaping from under the watchful gaze of his guide. The only regret he had was knowing that if Nori found out, she’d probably give him the cold shoulder again. “Meh… I can deal with that.”

***

He locked up his room and practically skipped out the door, excited at the prospect of seeing all those amazing island attractions without the added baggage of a crazy woman chasing him about. Taking the elevator up, he was just about to walk into the looby when he caught sight of green hair. He ducked behind a pillar and closed his eyes, murmuring under his breath. “Please don’t see me.. Please don’t see me…” 

Keenan stayed perfectly still and waited till Nori passed by. She took the elevator that he had just gotten out of and once the doors closed behind her, he ran through the lobby practically cackling at the prospect of escaping. He didn’t care about all the strange looks he got, he was free to enjoy his vacation however he wanted to.

The lobby only had staff in it now but he ignored all their wide eyed stares as he exited the building and stepped out into the boardwalk. He had to shield his eyes with his hand as he got used to the brightness. He was really regretting not bringing his sunglasses with him. The sun beat down on him and brought sweat to his brow as he wandered the boardwalk aimlessly.

There was a woman selling drinks from a mobile kiosk nearby and she gave him a friendly wave, ushering with a hand for him to come over. “No thanks. I’m good!” Keenan called back smiling wide. He was far too happy to just be up and about and not trapped under the water in his ‘luxury suite’. 

“The heat can creep up on you in a moment notice young man. Trust me, stay hydrated.” The woman insisted, holding a bottle of water in each hand. She shook them like they were maracas and he couldn’t deny that she had a point. He didn’t need to end up collapsed in the sand again like last time. According to Nori, that was why he passed out and the idea that he snuck out just to end up collapsing again was not a fun one.

Keenan walked over and started pulling his wallet from his back pocket. “Alright. You got me. How much are they?”

She grinned with the lecherous look of a shrewd business owner and he was already wincing before he even heard the price. He knew it was going to be bad. The prices always were in tourist traps like this.

“Two bottles for ten dollars.” 

Keenan sputtered at that and balked at the outrageous price. He was about to put his wallet away again and walk away from the kiosk. “Ten bucks? For two? They aren’t even regular sized either. You’re out of your mind lady..” 

“I’ll take it.” A gravelly voice came from behind Keenan and he turned around to see a redheaded man approaching on the boardwalk. His cheeks were sunburnt and his hair was soaked. He stopped right next to Keenan and pulled out a folded bill from the pocket of his swimming trunks and handed it to the woman.

She took it in her greedy hands and turned it back and forth before deciding it was good and handed both bottles she had been holding over. But the man raised a palm up to stop her, a frustrated crease in his brow.

“Fresh ones. What do I look like, a tourist?” She looked like she wanted to say something nasty but she gave him a once over and looked as though she came to a realization. Instead of cursing, she pursed her lips at the man and dug into her kiosk to grab two colder bottles from within. 

Once the man had them in hand, he popped the cap off the first one and practically drained half of it in one go. He made a long sigh of relief and glanced over at Keenan, noticing him staring at him. The redhead wiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand and grabbed the unopened bottle. He flipped it up and caught it by the cap, offering it towards Keenan.

“Oh, you don’t have to..” Keenan was already feeling sheepish from having been caught staring. When the man had lifted the bottle up to drink, his shirt had rode up just high enough to catch streaks of black against pale skin. The tattoos had attracted his attention and while it was only a quick glance, being caught staring was making him shift nervously. He glanced away with a cough and was in the midst of stuttering excuses but the man wouldn’t hear the end of it and just shook his head still shaking the bottle in his direction. “You spent your money on it. I couldn’t-”

“I don’t mind. Trust me. They’re twenty bucks on the other end of the boardwalk.” The woman behind the kiosk perked up at that and got dollar signs in her eyes at the redheads words but quickly deflated as he pointed at her accusingly. “Yeah, don’t even think about it.”

Keenan took it if only to stop the man from pushing against his chest and put his other hand on his back pocket to pull out his wallet again. He tried to calm the heat slowly creeping up his neck and cleared his throat before speaking again. “Well at least let me pay you for half. I’d feel bad for just letting you pay for the whole thing.”

The man just shook his head. “I told you, it’s fine.” He started walking away and Keenan pouted, stomping up to catch up. The redhead threw up a two handed salute like a period being added to the end of their argument. 

If he thought that walking away meant that he won the argument. Well, he had never met a more stubborn person that Keenan then. He already had the money in his hand and cut off the redhead’s path before he could get further away. “Now you listen here! I don’t want to be rude but if you don’t take payment for buying my drink, we’re going to have a problem.” Keenan held the five dollar bill between thumb and forefinger and let it wiggle in the air. He stood his ground despite feeling intimidated by the other when he narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean ‘We’re going to have problems?’ Have you never heard of decent folk doing nice shit just cause?” 

The redhead crossed his arms in front of his chest and Keenan was having a little gay panic at the sight of more dark streaks of ink along his upper arms. Ok, so maybe he had a thing for tattoos. It wasn’t a big deal. Really… Keenan swallowed the lump in his throat and stuttered over his words, looked away. He kept shaking the bill between his fingers to distract the other away from his face. “C-can you just take the damn thing?”

“Why?” He ground out, his tone low. It sounded more like the snarl of a wild animal not a man.

“Because I’m trying to be kind!”

“You’re trying to be kind?!” The man narrowed his eyes and ran his hands through his soaked hair. He let out a gruff noise before indicating to himself with a thumb. “What about me? Here I was thinking that I was doing something nice and you’re making this into a thing.”

Keenan bit his lower lip and looked back with pink cheeks. He saw the man’s angry expression simmer away as he noticed the flush on his cheeks and he knew that he had to make his escape before he was caught staring again. “Just..” He let out a groan of frustration and without thinking twice, he grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved the bill into the breast pocket. 

With that having been done, Keenan took two steps back and risked looking up to see the stupefied expression on the redhead’s face. He stuttered out a quick ‘bye’, turned and quickly made his escape before embarrassing himself further. He didn’t look back once, worried that if he did so he might be more inclined to stick around. As he ran, he could hear footsteps chasing him for a few feet before they slowed down and gave up. 

The man stopped with a huff and started yelling at him for being a ‘stupid gullible tourist’ before even his voice faded the further away he got. Keenan didn’t stop running till he was all the way at the other end of the boardwalk. He let out short heaves from how far he had run without break and glanced behind him to see if the angry redhead had followed him. He didn’t see him which both relieved and disappointed him. The first person he met out on the island and he almost got into a fist fight over a bottle of water. 

Keenan shook his head at the ridiculousness of it. He couldn’t help himself though. He couldn’t help that he was raised to be kind and always pay it forward. It also didn’t help that the man was awfully attractive and had a voice that… did things to him. He stomach squirmed as he recalled it and he had to find a place to sit down and cool off. Sweat was gathered at his brow from the running he had done earlier.

He was still panting as he wandered over to a nearby bench with red cheeks and took a seat facing the beach. He took a long drink before setting the bottle at his feet and leaned back to get more comfortable. The seconds passed by in quiet contemplation as the waves crashed along the beach. The sounds of the wildlife surrounding him was calming on his nerves and he stayed there for a long time, curling his toes in his shoes as he relaxed.

A thought came to mind and Keenan retrieved his phone as he remembered his promise to Sam. He did say that he would take a lot of pictures of his vacation. Now would be as good as a time to start as any. He took his phone out to snap some pictures of the local scenery. There were two seagulls fighting over a single slice of pizza, both holding the crust on either side and pulling. Keenan took a picture of the first gulls offended look as they lost their grip and flopped backwards onto the white sand.

He couldn’t help but laugh as that before turning his attention towards a few people throwing a volleyball back and forth. One of the women jumped up high and spiked it into her friends face and his phone snapped a picture at just the right time. He captured the exact moment when it impacted the man’s cheek, his expression smooshed under the weight of the ball. Keenan sat around for a few more minutes and watched the game progress with a content smile till eventually the sun became too much for him to handle. 

Keenan got up and finished off his drink before he continued past the boardwalk and up a stairwell that led away from the beach. He tossed his empty bottle into a nearby recycling bin as he passed by it and took the stairs two at a time. The farther away from the beach he got, the more dense the greenery became. There was more wildlife that started to crop up that had him in awe of all the sights and sounds.

There were the sounds of exotic birds fluttering back and forth between bushes and he almost stumbled over himself so he didn’t step on the lizards that darted under his feet. Keenan made his way through the grassy brush and ended up on a main road that appeared to be setting up for the fireworks display. There were flower arrangements and streamers of bright colours being set up by the locals. He was amazed at the sights around him and just took a moment to take it all it. 

Up until now, he had been cooped up in one building for the most part. Out here it really did feel like he was in another world. He watched children chase each other down the road past people chatting as they worked. There was a man sitting behind a steel drum and was playing a tune that had several woman twirling and dancing, laughing and singing as if in their own little world. Keenan leaned against a tree and took out his phone, getting a picture of them spinning around with their bright dresses catching in the light. 

Two men passed by him carrying a box of streamers between the two of them. They were just passing by the stairs when the wind took hold of one and threw it halfway down the street. One of the men chattered to the other in a language Keenan didn’t understand but contextually, he knew what he was saying. 

“I got it!” Keenan called out to them and jogged forward to catch the decoration before the wind picked up again. He stumbled forward as it began skittering across the dirt but he managed to catch it between his fingers before it got away. Once he had it in his hands, he turned to face the men and gave them a victorious grin. “Here we go.”

One of them looked to the other before glancing back at Keenan and returning his smile. “Ah yes. Thank you.” He took the streamer once it was offered and brushed it off with his hands before putting it back into the box. 

The other man had taken his hat off and wiped his brow off with his forearm, the other hand resting on top of the other decorations to keep them from flying out as well. He nodded in agreement of his friends words and grinned. “Thank you. Hey, you’re from the hotel aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Keenan looked down at himself and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He really was dressed like a tourist. “Is it that obvious?”

They both laughed in a good natured way and looked back and forth between the two of them and nodded. “You got the look of one. Are you here for the festival?”

“Festival? No, I heard there was a fireworks display tonight but that’s all I knew.” Keenan watched two people working together to put up a long colourful banner between two houses. He pointed at it with a quizzical expression on his face. “I’m guessing it’s starting today?”

The first man threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, hands on his belly as he did so. He looked joyful at the prospect of explaining their tradition to Keenan and approached him to pat him on the shoulder. “It’s harvest season or Messis as we like to call it. It’s the time of year where we celebrate the good fortune we had with our crops.”

Keenan tapped his lip and nodded as he spoke. The man made a lot of wild hand gestures as he spoke. He was animated and touchy, patting him on the shoulder several times. The man had only known him for a few minutes but was treating him like he was extended family already. “That sounds amazing. The entire island gets together and celebrates? The hotel never even mentioned a festival when I arrived. Can’t believe I almost missed this.” 

“It’s something of a tradition that is shared by us, not so much the hotel. But that’s fine. You see, it’s a lot of work for everyone all year round but this is the time where we get to indulge in all the goods we’ve made and take pride in the work we’ve accomplished.” The second gentleman was more reserved as he spoke, stroking his goatee with one hand. He looked tired but true to his words, there was an excited glimmer in his eyes. “Although decorating really is the worst part. The winds that come inland pick up and blow away all our decorations before we even get to put them up.” 

“Can I help?” Keenan asked without a second thought. He liked getting involved and what better way to do so than to help set up for their festival. Sam did tell him that this was the time to make memories and live experiences that he’ll never get a second chance at.

The small plump man rested his arms on his hips and leaned back to let out a hearty laugh. He looked overjoyed at the prospect of more help and nodded with a cheery grin. “Well we can certainly use an extra pair of hands.”

“You’re more than welcome to join us.” The second man answered less boisterous than his friend but appeared happy nonetheless. He offered a hand and when Keenan took it, he gave it a little shake introducing himself. “I’m Emilio.”

“Keenan.” He responded and from the looks on the two men’s faces, they were debating on mentioning something. He could only assume it has something to do with his name again. Almost everyone he had spoken to so far had mentioned it. “And yes, I know what my name means..”

Luckily after a mutually contemplative moment passed, they simply shrugged and continued on with the introductions. The plumpier of the two men came up and offered his hand upwards towards him. “Ajay!”

Keenan took his hand and was almost surprised at the strength and warmth of his grip before they parted with a quick shake. The wind picked up around him and any further inquiries died on his lips as the decorations within the box began to shuffle about. “Uh oh..”

The three of them covered the top and carried the box down the street, underneath the banner being set up overhead. Several people on ladders waved down and called out various greetings as they passed by. They brought the decorations into a round central area that had a small staging area that was still in the middle of being constructed by a handful of people. Keenan glanced around as they set the box next to the wooden stage and watched as flowers were woven by women into garlands, children brought in shells and shiny rocks by the handfuls and beach umbrellas were set up to provide shade from the heat.

Ajay sorted through the box and organized the different types of streamers, mindful of the gentle paper as he offered them to Keenan. He pointed at how the other people were setting theirs up and continued to unpack as Emilio approached with a ladder.

“Come, I will give you a hand.” The man stood almost as tall as him and Keenan rose a brow, knowing that they were both tall enough to reach the places that needed to be decorated but Emilio still looked adamant on using the ladder. “Just in case. ‘Safety first is safety always’ I believe the saying goes?”

Keenan nodded and couldn’t find himself arguing with that point. He really didn’t want to injure himself while he was on vacation, especially when it was only day two and he had the rest of the month to enjoy his time off. They approached one of the houses that were plain in comparison to all the already decorated homes. There were two steps that led up to the open porch and the screen door was open, music floating from further within.

Emilio set up the ladder and climbed up to be level with the overhang of the porch. He had grabbed several decorations with one hand while he sought out the small pins in the walls that people were using to hang the streams off of. The wind picked them up once they were fashioned and they gently gliding in the wind, making the home look brighter and more festive within moments. 

Keenan worked alongside several people who giggled and greeted him whenever he passed by. Several children stopped in their games and stared up at him, gaping at how tall he looked in comparison to everyone else. When he kneeled down to their level, they would squeal in delight and run away to go catch up to the rest of their friends. The people were so friendly and kind to him, happily making conversation with him as though he had lived with them his whole life.

He felt so welcome among them. A woman rested a garland of blue blossoms on top of his head when he was kneeled over a box and he blinked up at her, a hand raising up to brush against soft petals. They smelled wonderful and he gave her a polite nod, adjusting to flowers so they sat on his head without obstructing his view. 

She pointed at her own garland and then back at his again. “Bougainvilleas.” The young lady answered simply before turning away to playfully scold one of the children trying to climb onto the ladder when no one was looking.

Keenan grinned at that sight and watched two others start to run around his feet with a garland in hand. They ran circles around him till his legs were trapped and they made a show of pulling it as hard as they could to try and pull him to the ground. They weren’t strong enough to do so but Keenan happily made a show of being toppled like a building and laid back in the sandy ground with a hand draped over his face in a dramatic pose. “You got me…”

They squealed and crawled all over him, chittering back and forth as they do. The minute they looked away, Keenan sat back up and made a loud roar. They all giggled and ran away, scattering about the village before he could catch them. Keenan untied himself and glanced around, noting the amused expression on everyone’s faces. He waved back before returning to work. 

It took about an hour to get everything out of the box and up on the buildings and walls but once it was done, everything looked much more bright and festive. Keenan had ducked under one of the umbrellas to seek solace away from the sun and was wiping at his sweaty brow with the back of his hand when he caught sight of a few people coming out of one of the larger homes with baked goods and pitchers of cool drinks. They were humming and singing as they did so, gaining the attention of the rest of the workers who began to cease what they were doing and join in.

Keenan almost felt like an outsider again, not recognizing the language or the words but at the same time, felt content to just sit out and watch the display before him as they worked as one, sorting out glasses and plates among everyone. He almost jolted at the feeling of a hand falling on his shoulder. Ajay had come out of the house behind him and indicated with a jerk of his head towards the group slowly forming up in the centre of the stage.

“Oh no, it’s fine. I’m okay right here.” He politely raised a hand in front of his face, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a tradition shared on this island. 

Ajay shook his head with a persistent smile. “Nonsense. You helped us. Join us for the tribute.”

“Tribute?” Keenan watched as the children were served food first. They received little baked cakes and split off into groups to sit amongst themselves. He saw them say a few words and tear their buns into smaller portions, trading it between each other until they all had something from each other’s plate. The adults were doing something similar but they were using wooden utensils to share scoops of rice and vegetables back and forth.

“This is the first meal. You see, we eat in stages during Messis.” Ajay hummed as he tried to find a way to describe the scene before him. “Even as we celebrate, we do so in short amounts. To remind us that while we were successful this harvest, we must always remain humble for the future.”

Keenan smiled at that, feeling a warmth in his chest at the sight before him. One of the men offered a spoonful of rice to a woman and she giggled, turning red before offering him a piece of her bread roll. “It’s beautiful.” He found himself murmuring, suddenly feeling very shy as some of them glanced over like they had heard him. Once one of the villagers began waving him over, others joined in until even the kids were cheering in his direction.

Ajay could feel how nervous he was and gently guided him to the group. He gave him a reassuring smile and took a plate offered to him by Emilio. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Thanks.” Keenan was given his own plate and nodded thankfully as his plate quickly became full by the people serving food. Once it was full, he turned to face Ajay and watch what he was doing. He saw the man approach Emilio and the two took scoops of food off their own plate with his chopsticks and offered it to the other.

“Thank you.” Emilio nodded in thanks and glanced over at Keenan. He indicated to his plate, showing the divide he was making between the food he started with and what Ajay had placed there. He gently lifted a nigiri roll and extended a hand forward to place it on his plate. 

Keenan was quickly picking up on what to do and took a scoop of vegetables and replaced the empty spot on Emilio’s plate. At the smile received, he felt the warmth in his chest grow and turned to Ajay to find him trading with the woman who had made his flower crown. She noticed him staring and approached with her plate. It was divided cleanly in half and she offered him a piece of her bread roll and in exchange, Keenan offered a slice of fish. The two of them nodded and thanked each other before moving on.

After several minutes of trading and short conversation with the people around them, they all sat cross legged in the sand and began to eat. Keenan didn’t realize how starved he was till he tore into the first piece of fish and his stomach growled for more. It didn’t take long for his plate to be empty. He was offered a glass of lemonade and took it appreciatively, having to remind himself to slow down. Eating and drinking too fast in the heat could end up making him more sick in the end. Keenan slowed down and took smaller sips, listening to the quiet conversation passing around him. They had been talking in a different language before he arrived but after seeing him help around with the decoration, they shifted to english to include him in the conversations. He was simply content to sit there and listen as a group of women sat around and indicated towards a young couple across the clearing. The woman was sporting a round belly and had plenty of garlands and beads decorated around her neck and in her hair.

“She’s far along. You can tell she was overjoyed when they told her she was having twins.”

“I saw her yesterday during the last gathering. She was practically glowing.”

“How about the little one? Is she excited to meet her new siblings?”

“Of course. She keeps talking about teaching them to swim. She’ll make a good sister.”

Keenan glanced back and forth as the conversation continued before movement at the corner of his vision caught his eye. He saw someone clearing the dishes away by their lonesome and he hopped up to offer a helping hand to him. “Can I..?” He inquired, not wanting to overstep his boundaries but from the relieved look he got in return, the man appeared grateful at the offer.

“Yes, thank you. You are a very kind soul.” The two of them piled plates and cups on top of trays and brought them back to the house that the food had originally come from. 

Keenan flushed at that and tried to focus on the ground to hide his red cheeks. “I’m just doing what anyone else would in the situation.”

Inside the house they went to were two men washing dishes in a sink, humming gently to themselves as they worked. They looked up once they came in and took the piles of plates off the trays with thankful nods.

Keenan stood there for a long second not knowing what to do next but from the looks of things, the dishes were already being taken care of. The man he had come into the house with was turning to leave and he was about to step out too when someone called his name.

“Keenan?” He turned to see the man that was drying the damp dishes looking back at him with a shy smile on his face. Keenan recognized him from the earlier meal he had with the villagers. They had shared a short conversation but the man had excused himself quickly under the pretense that he needed a drink.

His buddy gave him a reassuring nudge and he looked almost nervous before he cleared his throat and looked at Keenan. “Tonight there will be a dance..” He trailed off before his friend gave him another elbow to his side. His cheeks burned red as he stumbled before catching himself.

“Yes?” Keenan tilted his head to the side as the pieces started to click together. He was slowly realizing what the man was trying to lead up to and waited a heartbeat as he was gathering up the nerve to continue. 

“Would you- If you are still here tonight that is..” The man looked back up at him and was pink, ears burning as he stuttered over his words. “Would you dance with me?”

“I would love to.” Keenan hadn’t expected such an offer and there was no way he was going to turn it down. While he was nervous at the prospect of dancing, he wasn’t going to turn down the man who looked taken aback at his response, overjoyed but shocked that he said yes.

The man shook his hands dry and approached him with a bright smile. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in a nervous gesture and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Really?”

“Yes, I’d love to dance with you.” Keenan beamed happily as the man approached him. He went red as his hand was taken in between two of his. They were gentle and warm and Keenan looked down as the man pressed a little kiss to the inside of his wrist. He flushed at the gesture and the two of them parted just as quickly as they had touched. 

He looked down at his wrist with a blush on his face and nodded, ready to leave the house. But something burned bright and hot within his heart and he found himself turning once he was at the doorway. He smiled at the shy man who was backing up to return to the sink and gave him a little wave. “I’ll see you tonight.”

With that, he went back outside to join Ajay in what looked like story time. The man was in a crouched position and was making digging motions with his hands, flicking his head back and forth like a small animal of sorts. Children were seated around him, giggling and rolling around in the sand in amusement. Keenan had an amused expression on his face and his gaze traced the audience till he saw red in the distance.

Talking to Emilio was the grumpy redheaded man from earlier. They had a barrel seated between the two of them and were making gestures toward it as they spoke. From this distance he couldn’t really tell what was in it but there were sticks or handles of some kind poking out the top. The redhead must have felt eyes upon him because he looked up and their gazes met. The man’s expression turned from surprise to irritation and Keenan balked as he made a show of patting his chest pocket where the five dollar bill was still sticking out of.

Emilio’s mouth moved as he said something else and the man responded but didn’t look away. He didn’t take the stairs, instead hopping down from the porch to land in the sand. He gave a little one handed wave behind him but seemed more focused on Keenan as he approached.

Keenan felt his face get hot and his eyes darted around, looking for an escape. Despite them being in a wide clearing with several open homes to run to, he felt trapped by those piercing eyes. His heart was thudding heavily in his chest and he managed one step backwards before the man stopped directly in front of him.

“You again?” The man let out a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. “I suppose I should have expected as much. Tourist love to pop up in random places.”

Keenan frowned and balled his fists at his side. “You make it sound like being a tourist is a bad thing.” He wasn’t about to stand down and let this man insult him if he was going to assume the worst about him just because he wasn’t born here. Even if the man was handsome…

“Hah, I haven’t been proved otherwise yet..” A grin started to coil across his lips before realization flickered in his gaze. He did a full spin on the spot and when he turned around to face him again, he looked confused. “Isn’t there supposed to be a guide or something assigned to you to keep you out of trouble or..?”

“Yeah, does it look like I need a guide? I can enjoy myself without being assigned a babysitter.” Keenan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as well, imitating the other man’s posture. Had he been a bird, he would have puffed up his feathers to appear as big as he could. Since he wasn’t, he instead stood tall and almost prided himself on the inch and a half of height that he had over the redhead at the stance. Then again the other man was slightly slouched forward.

“Is that so? Decided to go rogue eh?” The man appeared amused at his response and tilted his head to the side as if analyzing him. A slow, leisurely smile appeared as if he knew something that the other did not. He laughed, the sound humming deep in his chest. “I respect that. Not very many like to take the path less travelled.”

Keenan was taken aback at that and looked around the clearing before glancing back at him again. “I’m confused. Do you hate me or not?”

“Hate you?” The man balked and for the first time looked like he didn’t know what to say. Instead he shoved his hands into his shorts pockets and kicked at the sand beneath his feet in irritation. “Shit, did I really make you think that?”

“Well, you did insinuate that tourists are bad.”

The man looked up at him and sighed, retracted a hand from his pocket to pinch at his brow. He shook his head and grumbled something under his breath before speaking up, louder this time. “Look I didn’t mean to be harsh. It’s just the usual with people that come here. That’s what the guides are for, they keep tourists from disrupting the locals during their day to day.”

“I don’t understand. I was told that the people here were friendly and so far, all I’ve received is kindness.” Keenan was trying to understand the point he was making but it was hard to see it when everyone he had met thus far had been polite and respectful towards him.

The redhead ran his hand through damp locks of hair and rolled his shoulders. “Yeah but not everyone is like you. Most just want a cute little kodak moment to put on their walls when they go home. You know, the kind of shit you see on the cover of National Geographic?”

Keenan swallowed at that and looked away, happy that he had fought the urge to take out his phone the whole time he had been helping out. There had been a few times he had been tempted to take pictures. Especially of the decoration and the buildings. Luckily he had fought that urge, too drawn in at the prospect of helping out. “Yeah I think I understand.”

“Look. I’m sorry for assuming. It’s just.. I’ve seen it too many times in the past, y’know?” The man let out a hum and after a beat, he continued. “How bout we start over again? You don’t seem like too bad of a guy.” He offered his hand in a shake, sharp eyes catching Keenan.

“I’d like that.” He took the hand and gave it a shake, momentarily taken aback by how strong his grip was. The man’s hands were far too hot and he could feel the callouses against his palm. “I’m Keenan.”

“Jared.” The man paused and then opened his mouth to say something but he interrupted again before he asked what he was about to ask. “Did you know that Keenan means-”

“Yes I know what my name means. Thank you very much.” Keenan grumbled, brows furrowed and lips in a disapproving frown.

Jared smirked at that and pulled his hand back, shoving it back into his pocket. He looked amused at Keenan’s frustrated response. “Heh, I’m guessing I’m not the first to mention it.”

“Far from it. I have no idea why it’s so important but everyone keeps bringing it up. Didn’t even know that Keenan originated in the tropics.”

The man shrugged casually. Despite being slightly slouched over, he was a few inches taller than Keenan. “It isn’t. Not that I know of. But names are known to carry from place to place. Like the waves carrying seeds to different islands.”

“That’s… oddly poetic.”

Jared’s expression shifted to one of irritation. The creases in his brow stood out as he practically growled. “Oh wow, and you say that I was judging too quickly.”

Keenan couldn’t help but snicker at that. He hadn’t meant to be so mean but there was something about riling up the man that amused him. “Sorry, you’re right. I just thought it was funny.”

“Alright.. ‘Keenan’.” The man put heavily enunciation on his name as if to mock him but his offending tone fell short as the other kept laughing at him. “Hey, seriously.. Not funny.”

In response, Keenan lifted his hand and made a pinching gesture with his thumb and forefinger. “It’s a little funny.” He continued to laugh until even Jared’s sour expression seemed to lighten up. He watched him smile despite himself and counted it a victory in his books because the man had a gorgeous smile. 

Jared didn’t let it stay long and glanced away to hide his face from sight as he gawked at him. He was grumbling under his breath and while that had worried Keenan the first time, he was starting to come to the realization that maybe he was just a cranky individual by nature.

“Well I’d love to stay and chat but I have to go set up for tonight’s show.” Jared’s hair had dried under the heat of the sun and now the strands that had been dark from being soaked were now a bright copper. He continued to run his hand through his hair like it was a nervous gesture that he couldn’t help and stared at the stage that everyone had finished setting up before glaring up at the sky. “I only hope the weather actually holds up this time.”

Keenan tilted his head and folded his arms behind his back, following his gaze to the empty stage. “Your setting up for the fireworks?”

The man shook his head and glanced back at him with a coy smirk on his lips. “Oh no. When I say ‘set up’, I mean set up for my performance.”

That intrigued Keenan and he pursed his lips as he thought more on that subject before a thought came to mind again. He hummed and scratched at his chin. “Does that have anything to do with the barrel that Emilio gave you?”

“Heh, you saw that.” He didn’t seem upset by that, sounding more impressed than anything. Jared kicked at the sand one more time with his bare feet before he started to walk away. He only got a few steps away before he glanced over his slouched shoulders behind him. “You coming?”

Keenan didn’t need to be told twice. His curiosity had been piqued and if the man was willing to show him what his performance would be than he was all for it. He easily caught up to Jared and walked behind him, approaching the porch that Emilio was still standing at. 

There were now two barrels next to him and the man was swirling the sticks within them like he was stirring something viscous. He looked up as they approached and gave a wave at Keenan before returning to the task at hand. “There are six ready right now. I’ll need another barrel to soak the last four. Unless you need more?”

Jared shrugged and grabbed one of the wooden sticks, lifting it slightly out of the fluids. He gave it a glance before dropping it back it. The stick make a wet ‘plunk’ as it fell back in and sunk to the bottom. “Nah, ten should be good. I don’t plan on pushing myself tonight.” 

There was a waxy smell that waffed in the air from the barrels and Keenan rose a hand to face to wave away the smell with a crinkle to his nose. “What is that smell?”

“Lamp oil. It burns slower than kerosene. Much easier to light up and easier to douse if things get… too hot.” Jared grinned at the wide eyed look on his face as he came to the realization about his performance. His smirk grew as he swallowed heavily.

Keenan let out a long breath and glanced between the two men, pointing at the redhead before indicating towards the barrel. “You’re a fire dancer?”

“I prefer ‘Professional fire performer’ but yes, I do occasionally dance with the fire.” Jared gave a mocking bow as he announced his title and gave a little glare at Emilio, who let out a little chuckle. He shoved his hands back in his pockets and looked out into the distance as if looking for something. “Anyways, I only perform during Messis so if you’re that interested in seeing it, stick around. I’ll only do it once.”

Keenan tapped his lip, pretending to be deep in thought. “Hmm, that really depends. You wouldn’t mind if this ‘tourist’ took your picture during your performance would you?”

Jared gave him a long look. His lip curled into a frown like he wanted to say no but he instead, closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. When he opened them, he appeared more amused and pointed at Keenan. “Fine. But no flash photography.” With that, he stepped down off the porch and started to walk away, throwing a casual wink over his shoulder.

“Then I’ll see you tonight.” Keenan called to him as he started to make his way towards the staircase that led back to the beach. He saw the redhead pause for a moment as he heard him but he didn’t turn back or say anything else. He just continued on till he was down the steps and out of sight. Keenan made a noise comparable to that of a giggle and just managed to cover it up with a hand to keep himself from going anymore red. He looked around to see if anyone had seen him throwing looks at Jared but no one around seemed to be paying attention.

Emilio watched the interaction with a look of intrigue, glancing away quickly once Keenan turned around to face him. He wasn’t exactly subtle at the motion however and once he dared to look over, he saw Keenan raise a brow at him.

“What?”

The man just shook his head at Keenan and said nothing about the red dust to his face. He simply smiled and returned to his work. 

“Oh, nothing.”

***


	3. Attraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared chuckled at the sight of him and approached holding a sparkler of his own. “May I?” He held it up and Keenan offered his so he could use his to light Jared’s. There was a hiss as it sparked up and left a faint trail as Jared twirled it in a figure eight in front of him. 
> 
> The two stood next to each other as they lit up the space around them and formed letters between them. It became a little game and Keenan let out a mock offended gasp as the redhead drew the shape of a dick in the air. He responded by quickly flicking his wrist and pantomimed a heart in the air. The flushed look he got in return was worth it and he laughed, running off and leaving a trail of sparkles behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading this thus far. I'm always happy when I see new comments on this fic.

Keenan was sitting next to the stairwell overlooking the beach as the sky started to darken. About an hour ago he had said his goodbyes to the people he has spent lunch with and promised to come visit them again before leaving. He adjusted the crown of flowers on his head as he sat there, feeling the braided stems coming loose from all the moving around he had been doing earlier. He didn’t want it to break so he shifted it with delicate touches before hovering his hand an inch over the petals as if worried that more would shed.

He was using the camera on his phone like a mirror to see what he was doing and was surprised when it began to ring in his hands. His expression shifted from confusion to down right anger as he recognized the song that was playing. He grit his teeth and answered the call so he wouldn’t have to hear the ringtone that Sam had changed before he had left. Only he would find ‘Ocean Man’ worth breaking into his phone.

“Hello?”

“Keenan, where are you?” Nori’s voice was high pitched and she sounded frantic, like a parent who had lost their child in the grocery store.

He almost groaned in frustration but managed to cover the mic with his hand before it picked it up. He exhaled before responding with a sickeningly sweet tone. “Where am I? Nori, I’m in my room. I’m just not feeling good.”

“Is that so?” She made a noise of disbelief in the back of her throat and her heels were clicking loudly as she paced on hard flooring. “Why do I doubt that?”

Keenan started to sweat as he felt that their conversation was leading to a very familiar conclusion. He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. “Why would you think that?”

“Because if you were in your room, we would be having this conversation face to face.”

Keenan was almost amused by the fact that the two of them had just quoted a scene from the Bourne Ultimatum before a realization hit him. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute.. Did you break into my room!?”

There was a long drawn out pause before Nori let out an anxious giggle and practically screamed a ‘no’ into the phone. Her next sentence was so fast it came out in one long, drawn out breath. It was almost impossible for him to decipher at first and he waited till she stopped making frustrated noises before he spoke back up again. 

“What did you say?”

Nori took another breath. “I said.. I only broke into your room when you didn't answer the door. I mean, I was worried. I thought you died or even worst, got kidnapped."

“How is being kidnapped worse than.. You know what, never mind. It isn’t important. “Keenan leaned his head back and glared at the clouds going by overhead. “Jesus and you wonder why I snuck out when you weren’t looking. Seriously, you can’t just do stuff like that without probable cause.”

“Why not?” She asked so innocently, Keenan could only imagine her looking like an abandoned puppy with big curious eyes. It would have been an adorable look if he wasn’t aware of her currently being inside his room unattended with all of his stuff.

He scratched at his brow, bumping the flower crown sitting just above his hairline. “Because it’s weird and creepy and just makes me not want to trust you. I mean, you are in my room right now. How do I know that you are not touching my stuff right now?”

There was a long pause. One that was far longer than he was comfortable with and she responded with a curt. “I’m not touching your stuff.”

“Anymore.” Keenan almost ground out, recognizing the sound of his suitcase zipper being pulled. He sighed and pressed a hand to his brow. He wasn’t going to sit here and argue his point with his assistant. He just wanted to enjoy his evening at the festival. “Look, I’m going to be out watching the fireworks tonight. I promise I’ll be back right afterwards.”

“Okay…” She sounded dejected at the prospect of not being there with him but sighed and let out a weak noise. ‘Have fun. Please stay safe out there. Tomorrow I’ll take you out to see the aviary if you want.”

“Sure.” Keenan responded curtly and hung up, glaring at the screen for a few more minutes before going through his setting with furrowed brows. He found the song that Sam had changed all his ringtones and notification sounds to and mourned all the hard work he had gone through, setting a tune to everyone in contact list. He couldn’t believe his friend would do such a thing to him.

It was getting darker as the sun set in the distance and soon, everything was shaded in a cool blue hue as the light disappeared beyond the horizon. It was almost startling how fast things went from hot and bright to the sort of darkness that made seeing six feet ahead near impossible.

He heard a single firework go off in the distance and the bang brought his attention to a group of people setting off small fire-crackers on the beach. It didn’t look like the official display had started. From the loud drunken laughter, he could tell it must have been a group of tourist setting them off for no other reason than the fact that they could. Keenan got up from the dirt and brushed off his shorts, walking down the steps to get a better view of the people laughing and throwing bottles and glasses around without a care in the world. He almost turned his nose up in disgust. 

No wonder Jared seemed so guarded and judgemental when they first met. These people were the absolute worst. Two people dressed up in the green uniform approached the tourists and attempted to talk reason with them but they were met with laughter and rude gestures. Keenan had no idea how the situation would play out when he caught sight of another figure in the darkness approaching the group by hand. He had to squint to see them better in the shadows. There was a flicker of something small and red before a small concentration of fire came to life at the end of the stick they were holding and light illuminated the area around them.

It was Jared, bright red and beautiful. Even with that scowl on his face, his features were practically aglow by the fire of his staff. The man wasn’t wearing his shirt anymore, showing of the long traces of black tattoos that started from his back and curled around him like branches. He was truly a frightening sight to behold, barefooted and sneering with a lighter in one hand and a burning stick in the other.

The group of people turned around at the sight of the beach being lit up and seemed to halt in their insults as Jared used his lighter to set the other end of the staff on fire. Now with both ends burning hot and bright, he spun it casually in front of him with one hand. He looked as though he didn't have a care in the world as he came closer and closer. 

“Yo, what the fuck.” One of the tourists smelling heavily of weed took two stumbling steps back, his pupils dilated as he watched the fire spinning in front of his face with glazed eyes.

A short woman standing next to him was cackling loudly, still unaware of Jared as she hung off the man’s arms. Her legs could barely hold herself up but she maintained her grip on the neck of her bottle. Once she threw back the last of her beer, she turned around to toss it and her eyes went wide at the angry redhead storming closer. “Holy shit. Is that guy on fire?”

Each step forward was followed by a step backward by the drunken tourists who wanted nothing to do with the man who was steadily backing them up towards the hotel. The twirling of his staff slowly picking up speed till the lit ends were spinning so fast that they were making a circular ring in the air in front of him.

“Let’s get the hell out of here..” Another man chimed in, noticing several figures coming from the hotel with flashlights in hand. He elbows his buddies to get their attention at the small crowd of hotel attendants they were drawing.

“That’s right. Fuck off.” Jared sneered as another gentlemen from the hotel showed up with a walkie talkie and a half dozen security guards. They surrounded the drunken folk and escorted them back by the boardwalk. Some of them tried to blame each other and even pointed at Jared, trying to get him in trouble as well. 

“Shut up idiot. My dad will bail us out of this.” The girl smacked her boyfriend upside the head as he tried to sweet talk his way out of the situation to a female attendant. She stumbled drunk away from him and yelled at anyone who even tried to touch her as she walked. Her flip flops had to be scooped up by her friend as she followed behind her.

Jared flipped off the tourists one handedly and impaled the end of his staff into the sand to extinguish it. “”Next time I won’t be so kind.” He sneered under his breath, crossing his arms in irritation. 

There was a man from the hotel passing by and he heard him speak, pausing to give him a dirty look before grabbing one of the tourists by the arm. He dragged the drunken man back to the building without another glance.

“Yeah, your welcome.” Jared called out, glaring angrily at the sand that smoldered under the heat of his staff. He looked up as the man let go of the drunken tourist and stomped back towards him. “Way to show your consideration..”

The staff member approached the redhead and jabbed a finger towards him. His finger roughly prodded him with every word. “We didn’t ask for your help.”

“Well your friends over there certainly needed it though. They couldn’t exactly control the situation and I took care of it for you.” Jared argued back, standing his ground despite the rough handling he was receiving. “Just admit it, you needed help."

The man looked him up and down, giving him a once over. He seemed to find something that disgusted him and his eyes narrowed. His nose coiled like he had smelled something horrid and he scoffed. He gave Jared’s chest a full palmed shove that sent him stumbling back a step. “Not from you. Never from you.” The man turned on his heels, adjusting his cufflinks before he walked away without so much as another glance behind him.

Jared flipped his staff and put out the other end in the sand, enveloping the area in darkness again. There was a long moment of silence before he hissed out a quiet. “Yeah fuck you too buddy.”

Keenan continued to walk towards the dark spot where he knew the redhead was and made a grabbing gesture with his hand to stop himself in case he stumbled forward in the darkness. “Jared?” He called out, unable to see anything except for the faint outline of the water in the distance. The moon was still hidden behind the clouds and made navigating the beach difficult.

There was a shuffling in the sand and a gruff voice responded. “Keenan?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I.. I can’t see shit in this darkness.” He stopped where he heard Jared’s voice and looked at the dark shape where he could only assume the man was standing. There was a flicker of something green and glowing that only lasted a second. It was gone so fast, it almost felt like something his mind had made up. 

The flick of a lighter temporarily lit up the area as Jared lifted his staff back up off the ground. “Hold on, give me a second.” He set the top back on fire and the white sand around them was illuminated in a warm glow. 

Keenan gave him a grateful nod. “Thanks, it’s much darker than I assumed it would be.”

“Heh your lucky I was here to take care of you then.” Jared rolled his shoulder as he spoke, turning his body to face the water. He was gazing out at the waves with a look of deep thought on his face. It gave him a great view of the long black slashes that followed the curve of his shoulder blades and disappeared under the waistband of his shorts.

Keenan coughed into his fist and looked away, letting his gaze fall on the hotel. He furrowed his brow as he recalled what had taken place before him. Feeling that second hand frustration, he kicked at the sand and crossed his arms over his chest. “What happened with those drunken tourists?”

“Oh… you.. saw that.” Jared trailed off with a sigh. He didn’t sound enthused that Keenan had been around to see what had occurred earlier and refused to look over at him, his fingers drumming over the length of the staff.

“Yeah, I can’t believe they treated you like that. Are the hotel employees that rude all the time?”

Jared turned to face him and the light played off his features, giving him a more sullen and tired look. The glow from the fire made him appear run down. He looked at Keenan, biting the inside of his mouth as he did so. “No, they aren’t like that to everyone. Just us.”

“The locals?” Keenan was taken aback by that. He couldn’t believe that the people who ran the hotel could be so cruel to the people who lived on the island. Thinking about it more, it shouldn’t be a surprise since places like these are usually abused for their beauty or resources. But he had read in a pamphlet that this island hadn’t taken very many tourists because of that reason. That they were more friendly to the environment here. Guess those were just fancy lies written on a piece of paper.

“Something like that.” Jared lifted his fire staff and rested it on his shoulder so that the tip was burning just behind him. He crouched down and grabbed a crumpled can of beer that had been half buried in the sand. “We’re treated like we’re the ones that cause the problems for everyone when their drunk ass tourists are the ones that decided to turn the land into their own personal garbage bins. We never asked for them to come here and start treating us like a fucking animal reservation and yet they did anyways.”

“How could someone do something like that?” Keenan approached and took it from his hand, joining him by collecting other bits of trash from the fireworks they had set off. There was torn packaging and plastic wrappers all over the place that he could see now in the light of the torch. 

“You made do as best as you can..” Jared shrugged casually but the strain on his face showed that the problem was much deeper than he was letting on. He seemed like the type of person to hold everything inside. Keenan could only imagine the thoughts that were going on in that man’s head.

“Well for the record, I think that was a dick move on their part.”

The two of them collected a good amount of trash between the two of them and they started to gather it up in a perfect pile between them. As they worked, they fell into easy conversation about anything and everything. It was a nice change of pace after all the drama that had just occurred.

“I never got to tell you earlier but I like the flowers.” Jared indicated to the crown resting on Keenan’s head when he looked up from the sand. He received a suspicious glare in response and he raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I really mean it.”

Keenan turned pink at his words while adjusting the flowers in his hair. “Thank you. A lady in the village made it for me. She said they were..” He struggled to recall the name of the flower and trailed off with a crease in his brow, snapping his fingers as he did so.

“Bougainvilleas.” Jared offered helpfully. He smirked as he stumbled to try and repeat the pronunciation under his breath. At Keenan’s round eyed expression, he continued with a lazy grin. “It symbolizes peace and love and fair trade among people. All that good stuff. It also symbolizes passion or something like that.”

The redhead paused and seemed to realize something because his grin grew. “I’ve heard from the grapevine that if you place one under your lovers pillow, it will ignite a passionate relationship. Imagine that, an evening of sex made wild just cause you simple hid a flower under the pillow.”

“Yeah… I always found flowers interesting. Not just the way they look and smell but the language and meaning that’s behind each one.” Keenan laughed at that but didn’t look up from what he was doing, feeling Jared’s heavy gaze upon him. It was scorching and had him turning red, his mind racing as he thought about the flowers on his head. A little voice in the back of his head was wondering quietly how Jared knew what the flower meant.

Keenan buried his fingers into the sand and dug up another burned down firework, adding it to the pile between them. He tried to ignore the heavy thudding in his chest as he worked. “It’s crazy. Roses all have different meanings depending on the colours. Red for passion, white for purity. So much to keep track of.”

Jared paused and made a sound of agreement at the back of his throat. He lifted up from his crouch and glanced around, searching for something. “I have a hard enough time with english as it is. Now I got to memorize flowers and hope that I’m not insulting someone for sending the wrong colour of tulips? No thanks.” With that, he stabbed the unlit end of his staff into the sand and stood at his full height again. When he wasn’t slouched, Jared was quite tall, easily standing over six feet.

“I’ll be right back. Gonna grab something to put this trash in.” Jared grumbled something about needing a huge one for the hotel employees as he disappeared out of the range of the lit torch and into the darkness. The sound of his feet in the sand grew more distant until it faded under the echo of the waves lapping at the beach.

Keenan stayed kneeled in the sand, taking the cans and piling them up into an abstract pyramid to pass the time as he waited. He didn’t like being left alone with his thoughts for too long and needed something to occupy himself with till Jared returned. The sand was warm beneath him and the heat seeped through his sandals and had his toes curling. He grabbed a handful of sand and felt the soft granulation in his palm, smoothing a thumb over the warmth in a semi conscious move. After a few seconds, he let it filter between his fingers slowly onto the ground again. 

A slow smile curled on his lips at the sight of the sand trickling down. Pure white flakes were a stark contrast to the dark of the night around him. They reminded him of the stars and he wiped his palms off on his shorts with a long, drawn out sigh. It was hard to believe that he was here, surrounded by a perfect beach and crashing waves instead of in Los Angeles, working his butt off in his nine to five job. He really had to thank Sam once he went back home. 

The smile faded at that thought. When he went back home. He glanced down at the sand on his knees and kept brushing it away as his mind wandered despite his previous attempts at reigning it in. He only had a month here. No matter what he did, the people he met, the relationship he craved. His eyes subconsciously traced over the edge of the light where he had seen Jared last. The man still hadn’t returned yet and it saddened him as he thought more on the subject.

Everything here would all go away when he finally left. Keenan made a weak noise and sat back on the sand, pulling his knees close to his chest. He closed his eyes to try and keep the emotions from roiling from his quivering shoulders. Even if Jared did had a cellphone and was willing to… He stopped that thought before it could go any further. There was no way he could do a long distance relationship again. The stress of timezones, the longing for physical contact.. He couldn’t handle it. Especially knowing that the man was here in paradise and he was home, trapped under mounds of work.

“Found a garbage bin. Was a lot further away than I thought it was. We seriously need to add more along the beachfront.” Jared was walking backwards, dragging a round metal garbage can one handedly along the sandy floor. He didn’t look up until it was close enough to Keenan for it to kick up sand against his foot. Once it was next to him, he leaned back and stretched until his back clicked. “Alright, let’s finish up here and..”

Jared trailed off at the sight of the man sitting facing towards the water and he didn’t say anything for a long moment. He stood there for a few seconds, feeling out the thick air that had settled while he was gone. The sound of the waves crashing inbound were the only thing that cut into the silence of the beach. He sat down next to Keenan and glanced over. “Keenan?”

“I’m fine.” He responded automatically, still picking sand off his knees. His eyes continued to stare out into the darkness and refused to look over at the redhead as he plopped into the sand with a little sigh. “Really..” It was so easy to just say that and let the subject drop but the other man just scoffed at him in disbelief.

“Yea, because that’s the expression of someone who’s fine.” Jared grumbled in a sarcastic tone and pointed at his own face to show off a similar frown. At the lack of response, he looked away and sighed. He waited a heartbeat before he tilted himself back and flopped unceremoniously next to him letting out a gentle noise. “Hey Keenan..”

“Hmm?” Keenan humoured him and finally looked over.

Jared tilted his head to give him a once over. “Join me?” He made a waving gesture for the other to lay back. At Keenan’s confused expression, he tried for a weak smile with his hand still extended above him. “Humour me.”

Keenan stared at the hand for a long period of time before he slowly extended his and took it. He allowed himself to be pulled back till he was also laid across the beach. There were so many questions floating in his head but they all died away as Jared looked away to peer directly up at the sky. He followed his gaze and the breath fell from his lips before he could stop it.

The sky was beautiful. It was dark but unmarred by the light pollution that was always so evident where he lived. In Los Angeles he could see only the brightest of stars on a clear night and only if he was lucky. But here on the island there were thousands of them. They were like jewels in the sky, glinting in the sense that they were the one thing untouched by man. The only thing that was still untarnished and so out of reach. He didn’t even realize he had lifted a hand in front of him until he was startled by the motion of it in his face.

There was nothing but a slow sigh to his right before finally Jared spoke up. “Yeah, it’s beautiful. Sometimes when my thoughts become too heavy of a burden, I sit here and look up at the stars and realize that..” He crossed his arms behind his head like a pillow and snorted out a laugh. “..Shit, we really are so small, aren’t we? I mean look at them all. There’s got to be at least one of them with people like us out there. Maybe not as fucking stupid but maybe..”

Keenan smiled at that and closed his eyes. “Maybe.. But that’s wishful thinking isn’t it? The grass is always greener on the other side.” He rested his extended hand onto his stomach and laid like that, content to just relax under the relaxing sounds of the waves. He heard Jared get up next to him and for a moment longer he just stayed there. Opening his eyes again, he almost mourning the fact that he would never be able to capture something so beautiful on his phone.

“Jared do you-” There was a pop of more firecrackers in the distance and Keenan glanced over to see people way down at the end of the boardwalk, coming down from the stairs with sparklers in hand. The sound of laughter carried to them even from how far away they were. His words died on his tongue and eyed Jared nervously, not wanting to see the man get into another fight with more people. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, it looks like the festivities are starting soon though. Come on.” Jared gazed back at him and shook his head, grinning wide at his concerned expression. He stood up and brushed off his knees before offering a hand to help him to his feet. “So what were you going to say?”

Keenan got up with pink cheeks and shook his head, happy that the glow of the staff hid the colour that burned across his cheeks. “Nothing..” He murmured, diverting his eyes to focus on collecting their pile of collected junk. A few minutes were dedicated to making sure everything was picked up and put into the garbage can. 

The fire on the staff was still burning bright despite how long it had been lit for and he reminded himself to ask jared how someone like him got into the art of fire spinning. He had a sneaking suspicion that it would be quite an interesting tale. His mind trailed off as his eyes graced over the curve of Jared’s spine as he bent down to collect his staff. Maybe he could ask about the tattoos as well. 

The redhead gave his staff a little twirl before holding it up next to him like a guiding torch. The light from the fire was forming shadows that dipped in the curvature of his body perfectly, giving him an almost inhuman glow as he turned to face Keenan. “Ready to go?” The black ink on his skin was a stark contrast to the bright radiance coming from the burning staff and Keenan swallowed heavily, feeling a great need building deep inside him. Yeah, he would definitely need to ask about those later.

“Y-yeah..” Keenan looked up at that and nodded his head, trying to play off his heated expression by adjusting the crown of flowers on his head. But it must have showed on his face because Jared was looking back at him with a deep crease in his brow. “What?”

There was a long moment of silence that trailed on between the two of them. Jared maintained his neutral expression for a long period of time before a smirk curled on his lips. He was wearing a knowing look and leaned forward on his staff, grinning at the fact that he had caught the other in his disheveled state. “Nothing. You just look.. distracted.” He practically purred, looking ever so like a cat who had the mouse cornered.

“I’m just tired.” Keenan lied, his eyes gliding off of the curling tattoo along Jared’s shoulders to stare off into the distance. He could see people lighting torches further down the beach as a small crowd was gathering for the fireworks. There was the sound of music being played as the festivities slowly picked up. 

Jared’s smirk grew wider but he didn’t say anything, choosing to pass by him with a little whistle falling from his lips. He patted Keenan on the shoulder before he started walking towards the gathering crowd in the distance. “Anyone ever tell you that your a horrible liar?”

“No.” Keenan lied again, much bolder this time. He wasn’t happy about being caught by the man in his self indulgent staring. He could feel the heat from his touch still burning on his shoulder and his hand slowly reached up to touch it as if he could catch it before it escaped. Keenan heard the lilt of Jared’s laughter get further away and he looked up to see him further away. He stumbled in the sand to catch up in long strides. “Ok, maybe once or twice.” He admitted once he caught up to the redhead who just hummed at that like he already knew.

***

The walk along the beach was nice and leisurely despite the two of them walking in almost complete silence. It was comfortable to be next to the man. The feeling was so akin to the one he felt when he was helping out in the village. There was a warm feeling in his chest that seemed to blossom when he was around these strangers who showed him a part of himself that he had never been able to share where he was from. This island was really bringing out every feeling to the surface, the very ones he had been forced to squash away since he was a kid. At times, being around the people here made him feel more emotional than he had been in years. He had even woken up crying on his first night here, something he hadn’t experienced since he was a young boy.

The closer they got to the people in the distance, the louder the melodic tune became and he glanced to his right after hearing humming. It sounded like Jared was harmonizing with the music as he undoubtedly recognized the faint singing in the distance. The sight confirmed his suspicions and he smirked as Jared met his gaze and glanced away, the noise ceasing as if embarrassed at having been caught. He wanted to poke fun at how the man was acting but his attention was immediately pulled away at the sight of sparklers being lit up and handed around. 

There were children running around and drawing glowing letters into the air as they danced around. Keenan clasped his hands in front of his face to keep in the happy noise that bubbled in his chest but couldn’t refrain any longer when a recognizable face approached and offered him one. “For me?” 

The woman who made his flower for him was the one carrying the sparklers and she nodded, handing it to him between delicate fingers. Once he took hold of it, she assisted in lighting the tip. Once it sparked up she stood back and gave a polite curtsey.

“Thank you.” Keenan’s grin grew as it started to sparkle and he did a full spin on one foot, twirling the sparkler in his hands. He was a giddy mess, practically reliving his childhood all over again as he spelled out his name in front of him with large cursive sweeping motions. He was faintly aware of the woman giggling at his excited twirling but he said nothing, too drawn into the sight of the light flashing at the end of the metal stick. 

Jared chuckled at the sight of him and approached holding a sparkler of his own. “May I?” He held it up and Keenan offered his so he could use his to light Jared’s. There was a hiss as it sparked up and left a faint trail as Jared twirled it in a figure eight in front of him. 

The two stood next to each other as they lit up the space around them and formed letters between them. It became a little game and Keenan let out a mock offended gasp as the redhead drew the shape of a dick in the air. He responded by quickly flicking his wrist and pantomimed a heart in the air. The flushed look he got in return was worth it and he laughed, running off and leaving a trail of sparkles behind him.

He managed to get a few steps away before Jared took hold of his hand and pulled him towards him. Keenan looked up with a racing heart and completely forgot about his sparkler at the sight of Jared staring down at him with a warm look in his eyes. He leaned his head down and Keenan’s pulse picked up as he got closer and closer. His hand reached up and hovered and inch over Jared’s chest, preparing to brace himself for the incoming kiss.

Keenan’s knees quaked as his head came close and his heated expression turned into one of confusion as instead of lips meeting his, they redirected to rest next to his ear. “I have to go set up.” He heard Jared whisper against the shell of his ear and his nerves were lit up at the fuming disappointment. They had been so close. It was almost teasing how easily the man slipped away from him. “I’ll come find you afterwards.”

He couldn’t find it in himself to say anything, only able to nod as Jared winked at him. He feared if he tried to speak, nothing but a weak whine would leave him. Keenan bit his lower lip and glanced away, feeling that warm hand give his a final squeeze before parting. He only looked up once Jared had turned around and watched him disappear into the crowd.

His sparkler only flashed for a few more seconds as it burned down the phosphorus wick before it went out but he had enjoyed it while it had lasted. The exhilarating childish feeling had come back to him and Keenan smiled down at the sparkler in his hand, glancing around to find a place to put it. He deposited it in a nearby can labelled as garbage before he felt a tap on his shoulder and spun around. Had Jared come back?

“Would you like another?” The young lady offered once he was facing her again, a basket tucked under her arm. Inside of it she had several sparklers laid out. There were plenty of them in varying sizes, some looking like they could stay lit for several minutes. She reached in to retrieve another when he shook his head and lifted a hand up in a polite gesture.

“No thank you. I really enjoyed it but please, I don’t want to be greedy and burn through all of them.” He still had a giddy smile on his face at the sight of three men passing by him with wheelbarrows full of fireworks. “Now those on the other hand, I’d love to play with.”

The men heard him and laughed heartily at his jest as they continued on. “The show will go on soon. I promise.” 

One of them kicked their feet in the sand playfully as they moved, almost dancing to the music that was playing around them. Keenan imitated the motion and did a little spin before catching up to the man at the back of the pack. He started walking backwards once he was next to the man who was still dancing while wheeling his batch of fireworks. He gave a friendly wave as he recognized him from earlier. It was the man who asked him to dance earlier when he was helping out at the village. “I do believe I still owe you a dance.”

“I’m flattered you remembered.” The man offered a shy smile in return and glanced over to where the fireworks were being gathered. The others had already made it to the flattened part of sand and were starting to set up lines of fuses leading to a safe clearing away from the crowd. “After this?”

Keenan nodded and ran off before he could get the other in trouble for slacking off. He ended up in the middle of the small crowd of people, under the light of a dozen torches that made the beach feel like a community. There were some tables set up with beaded necklaces and flower crowns that were being handed out to people lacking them. A woosh of light caught his attention and he saw a row of three men behind portable stoves, cooking food on large pans. The aroma drifting from that part of the crowd had his stomach reminding him that he only had lunch and that had been hours ago.

He went to the back of the line up, hungry but sated so slightly at the displays they were putting on as they cooked. The men were flipping the food within the pans high up into the air, squirting some oil along the bottom before catching it again in a burst of sizzling fire. They were happily yapping back and forth as they worked and looked undisturbed by the heat radiating off the ovens. Keenan was impressed and leaned forward, inhaling deeply at the smell of spiced rice and meat. 

They dished it out by the dozen in small but deep bowls before starting up another batch without missing a beat. A woman standing by the end of the stoves made sure each bowl had a utensil to go with it before handing it out to the line up. It was amazing how efficient they worked, almost like a well oiled machine. The men chattered in another language and as the woman came back to grab another bowl, one of them sang a little romantic tune that had her playfully swooning. She gave him a gentle whap on the arm before blowing him a kiss and returning to hand out food to the people in line. All in all, everyone looked to be having a great time. It brought a smile to his face.

When it got to Keenan, she paused and recognition flashed in her eyes. She had her hands out, awaiting another bowlful of food and struck up a conversation with him as they watched the fire grow higher on the stoves. “Hello, how are you enjoying the festivities so far?”

“I’m loving every second.” Keenan beamed happily, feeling overjoyed at the prospect of sharing his experiences with another. “The music and the lights. The colours... I haven’t played with sparklers in years. I feel like a kid all over again, everything is so new and exciting.”

She giggled into her hand at his words. “I can tell. You’ve been running around all day helping us set up for the festival. Not very many people can keep up with us in the sun.”

“Well, I will admit. I think I got a bad case of heatstroke yesterday.” He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, face red in the glow of the nearby torches. He decided not to bring up the creepy old woman and how she had made his skin crawl. He wasn’t going to let one bad encounter ruin his entire month of vacation “It really caught up to me. I guess I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.”

She lifted a hand in a scolding gesture and waggled a finger in his direction. Her expression had shifted to a worried one. “Young man you better keep yourself hydrated from now on. I don’t want to see you get sick, understand?”

Keenan grinned despite being told off like an unruly child. “Yes ma’am.”

With that having been said, the woman gave a curt nod and accepted a bowl of food as it was handed to her. She didn’t break eye contact as she jammed a spoon into the steaming rice and offered it to him. “Good. Marle is selling drinks over there so make sure you get something if you’re feeling ill.” She indicated to a short stocky man with various coolers stacked around him like a makeshift fort. He had a hearty grin on his face as he scooped ice cubes out of one and poured them into an empty glass.

“I will. Thank you.” Keenan nodded distractedly, too drawn in by the delicious look of the food he had been given. There was a wonderful mixture of fried vegetables and meat, stirred into a thick broth that smelled slightly sweet. It had been poured generously over spiced rice. The grains ranged from light orange to black. He took a mouthful and his expression changed to one of bliss. The sweetness of the broth was a perfect compliment to the spice and heat underneath and he almost reeled back, A content hum falling from his lips.

Keenan turned to face one of the cooks and the moment their eyes met, he indicated down to his bowl with a bright smile. “This is amazing.” He managed between two more mouthfuls and the gentleman beamed at his word, giving a nod before returning to his work. With that having been said, he gave the woman a final wave before he left the front of the line to find a place to sit.

From the looks of things, everyone had found a spot on the beach and just sat on the sand without need of chairs or even blankets. Keenan glanced around as he ate till he located an area that no one had taken up. It was just barely within the edge of the torch light but he didn’t mind sitting in the dark. He was mostly content at being able to ease back and watch the community around him without having to worry about being in peoples way. The villagers who had set up this celebration were dashing about like busy bees, moving crates of food and dishes around to keep up with the influx of people slowly flooding in from the hotel. He didn’t see Jared in the crowd but he did see the familiar green vestments of the hotel guides as they led groups of tourists throughout the crowds.

He watched the shift in attitude of the locals and noticed how their smiles became more tight and their laughter more forced. To think, he wouldn’t have seen such a thing had Nori brought him here. He would have ended up being just like all the other tourists, bumped to the front of the lines and allowed to take two times more than anyone else had been given.

“Is this gluten free?” One of the woman in a straw hat and sundress asked her guide who looked confused at the question. “I can’t have gluten. It sticks to my ribs and makes me feel bloated.” 

Keenan snorted at that and rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the sinking feeling he got at the sight of two teens running by with twice as many sparklers between the two of them than what the rest of the villagers had. His smile was unable to maintain itself as a tourist came over to the lady who had graciously given him his sparklers earlier. She looked distraught as the sullen looking tourist pointed at her and complaining loudly. “And why can’t my son have two more? Does he not deserve them? Do you think so little of him?”

“No ma’am. I was told to only give them one at a time. So everyone could get-”

The lady barked out a sardonic laugh and sneered at the woman who was backing up slowly, glancing around as if she were trapped. “And you do what your told? How easy are you?” 

“I… what?” The gentle woman didn’t get a chance to react as the tourist just reached forward and shoved her hand into the basket, grabbing a handful of sparklers. She was teary eyed, lower lip trembling as she was glared at as if being dared to say something. “Please, won’t you share with the rest of the children. That’s all I have for the rest of..”

“Oh shut up. They’re free aren’t they?” She gleefully barked back, cutting off her complaints. She fanned out the sparklers in her hands and Keenan saw that she had successfully grabbed at least two dozen, leaving only a few within the basket.

Keenan couldn’t stand to sit idly by anymore. He collected his empty bowl and began to stomp over towards the two of them, blood boiling in his veins. Maybe he should be leaving this for the hotel assistants to take care of. Maybe he shouldn’t be getting involved. Maybe.. But he wasn’t the type of person to sit still and let something happen in front of him. He had a voice, he was willing to speak up on behalf of others. Just as he got to them, a hand fell on his shoulder and he glanced over with furrowed brows to see Jared standing there.

“Jared.. What.. Where did you go?” He had lost track of the man earlier and had wondered where he was setting up his performance. From the looks of things, Jared had also seen the incident occurring and couldn’t stand by either. His brows were creased and his eyes had a look like he were already putting together a plan of action.

“I got an idea.” He spoke just loud enough for Keenan to hear, his eyes not leaving the ignorant woman standing in the middle of the crowd. The tourist had grabbed the lighter from the womans trembling hands and started to light them, a dark grin on her face as the knowledge of her getting what she wanted. “Mind covering for me?”

Keenan looked over the see two employees from the hotel watching the situation unfold before them but not bothering to step in. He nodded and received a coy smirk from Jared. The redhead began to slowly weave between the people standing around the beach as he tried to nonchalantly approach the woman. 

She was completely unaware as Jared was stalking over towards her. But two employees from the hotel did and started to move to intercept him. The fact that they were only stepping in because Jared was getting involved really pissed off Keenan and he was more driven than ever to really get in their way. He stepped in front of them and made a show of tripping forward, kicking up sand into the air with an exaggerated cry.

Keenan had long limbs and put them to good use, pulling them down with an arm wrapped around both of them. “Oh no, I’ve slipped. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He bemoaned dramatically as he landed on top and let himself go limp so his weight pulled them completely to the ground. He could hardly maintain his injured facade at the livid expression on their faces as they struggled to get out from under him with frustrated noises. Keenan was only driven to hold on tighter at their cursing and continued to flop around like a starfish, keeping them down for several more seconds before he saw scattering flowers beneath him.

He sat up immediately, hands going up to find that his crown had fallen off in the middle of the struggle. Keenan picked up a portion of it and was lamenting his losses when he heard the sound of rushing water and a high pitched screech behind him. Keenan looked over to see that the rude lady was standing there with an agape expression on her face. Her mouth open and closed a few times like a fish, words unable to come to her as she stood there drenched from head to toe. She shivered and shook her hands as if that would help in any way at all. Her makeup was running in streaks down her face and her hair was in a sorry state, hanging in front of her eyes. “Who the fuck..”

“Me.” Standing behind her with a now empty cooler in his hands was the man in question. Jared was looking pleased as punch as he stood there, giving her a look that dared her to argue. He tilted his head and set the cooler back down, stepping around the spilled ice cubes to face her wrath head on. “Figured you could use some cold water to go with all that hot air.”

“How dare you. Do you know how expensive this dress it. I just got my hair done and now it’s ruined!” She raised a fingernail at him, pointing and screeching at the top of her lungs. “I will fucking sue you for damaging my goods. I’ll have you arrested for assault. I’ll… I’ll..”

“I’ll.. I’ll… I’ll…” Jared mocked back, his expression changed quickly to one of boredom. He picked at the dirt under his nails and rolled his eyes. Once the woman exhausted herself from yelling and could only pant with red cheeks, he leaned forward and quirked a brow. “Are you quite finished?”

“Do you… have any idea… who I am?” She started to heave out, still pointing at him with a perfectly manicured nail when he cut her off again with a raised voice.

“No, do YOU have any idea who I am?” Jared’s angry tone had gathered a much bigger crowd and the woman gawked at him in fear, shuffling back to get away from him. But he followed her with every step. “My name is Jared. So go ahead, tell the staff. See what they do about it.”

He made a gesture towards the hotel guides who were now standing around, looking for the world like children that needed their parent. Earlier, they looked like they were willing to interfere but none of them appeared to want to get involved now that Jared was riled up and red faced. The two that Keenan had tripped up were taken aback and glanced around embarrassed at the situation they were now in.

“Nothing. You know why they do nothing?” His sneer grew and he leaned forward, taking another step to close the distance. His voice lowered to a dangerous growl. “Because they recognize trashy people like you. They recognize that you are the one who caused your own problems, not the other way around. I didn’t come to your dark corner and knock the cock out of your mouth, did I?”

“You’re insane. You won’t get away with this.” She murmured, trembling as she slipped once in the soggy sand. Her hands were squeezing at the bottom of her dress, trying to ring out the water in desperation.

Jared laughed, high and maniacal. “Bitch, I already have. There’s nothing you can do to me.” He glanced over at Ajay who came up behind him and whispered something in his ear. He paused and looked at him before nodding and glanced back at the frightened tourist. He took the offered fire staff and twirled it once before resting it on his shoulder. “Now get the fuck out of here. I have a show to put on.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Her wet flip flops made squishing noises as she hurried to get to her children so they could leave. Once she was far enough away from the crowd, she started to holler again about how she was going to sue but this time her rage was directed at her poor guide who followed her with hands in his pockets.

There was a long silence that had filled the crowd. Even the music had stopped. The only noise were the waves and the cracking of the fires. Then suddenly the man behind the cooler let out a single clap. First there was one and then another and another. The applause started off quiet and slow but quickly picked up as even the guests were impressed at the way Jared had handled the woman. The redhead glanced around confused for a second before he tried playing it off with a shrug and little inclination of the head. 

“Look, we were all thinking it. I was just the one who said it. But enough with all that dramatic bullshit. Let’s really kick off this festival!” The crowd chuckled at that and the clapping slowed to a stop. He made a waving gesture for people to follow him and started walking to the edge of the torch light. 

Keenan recognized it as the place he had been sitting earlier. Had he been behind him the whole time? He didn’t have much time to think on that because Jared was already starting his routine with a stomp of his foot. He was transfixed by how calm the man looked, especially after what he had done earlier.

Jared flicked out a lighter and lit two fire staffs that were impaled vertically into the ground. The area around him was brightened up at the motion and eight other staffs could be seen sticking in the sand, surrounding him in a circle. He also had two unlit ones laid out before his feet. Jared kicked one of them up with his foot, catching it in mid air and giving it a little flourish. Doing so caused the tip to drift over the lit staff on his left and when he flipped it into the air, the end was now burning.

It was an amazing display of skill and Keenan clapped along with the rest of the crowd as he practically danced around in a circle, lighting the tops of each staff with dramatic sweeps. The fire looked almost alive, moving to Jared’s whim as he flipped the staff over his shoulder and catching it blindly. He let out a little gasp once the second staff got kicked up from the sandy beach and twirled in his other hand.

He was in awe of how easily the redhead spun the other, his longer fingers making the movement look easy as both ends of the staff were lit. Once they were burning bright, he began throwing them into the air. The height started off short but got higher and higher the stronger he threw them. He threw them up way into the air and extended his hands to his side to grab the ones sticking up from the sand. The two came down and he tossed the second two into the air, catching the first ones easily.

The whole display picked up once he lit the bottom ends of the staffs and soon he was juggling them two at a time, grabbing two that were stabbed in the ground and adding those to the mix till he had six going at once. Jared didn’t show any signs of growing tired and only seemed to pick up the pace. At one point he was throwing them up so high that he could flourish two in a little twirl before returning them into the air.

Keenan was breathless at how gorgeous Jared look, the fire reflecting in his eyes in a way that made them almost look ablaze. He swallowed heavily as the man’s gaze sought him out in the crowd and his lips curled up in a cocky smirk. That look alone had his heart racing and he bit his lower lip to hold in the noise that threatened to spill from him. He had to fight to compose himself but he couldn’t break eye contact, feeling so drawn in but the gorgeous man before him. 

He looked like a phoenix the way the light made his hair appear more vivid red and Keenan swallowed the heavy lump forming in his throat. Jared was shining bright like a fire, so beautiful and yet Keenan was so scared to touch him lest he be burned. He wanted so badly to trace the light that danced over every curvature of his body, taste the salt on his skin and do things that he had never imagined him to be doing in a million years. 

Keenan had lived such a conservative life for so long that it was hard to resist such a wild temptation. This dangerous addiction took the form of a man that he knew he couldn’t keep even if he wanted to. If Keenan let himself think he could have this, that he even had a chance then he wouldn’t be able to let him go when they inevitably parted ways. He wasn’t even sure that the man would be interested in pursuing a relationship anyways. He hadn’t made any indication towards it. 

He sighed and looked down at the sand, his expression growing sad. Him and relationships didn’t go hand in hand anyways. They never worked for him. Even when the breakup was mutual, they would go on their merry way and find someone new and he’d be left to pick up the pieces of himself that had been left around. He’d glue and tape the broken bits back together again and tell himself that he’d be smarter next time, that he’d be more careful the next relationship he got into. Then low and behold, he’d see someone and would find himself head over heels like a love sick teen all over again. It sucked being a romantic at heart.

Just as he was in the midst of mourning this lost cause, he saw a flickering lighter in the darkness to his left. The light had caught his attention and he saw another young man, lighting up the ends of another staff. He watched Jared glance over with gritted teeth but he said nothing as the man laughed and threw the new staff into the mix. 

Jared almost fumbled forward but he managed to catch it on top of his foot. He tossed it up to join the others, his eyes still glaring holes at the other man as he juggled them without so much as a glance. He now had an uneven number of staffs and had to switch his pacing to make up for it. After a few more minutes of juggling and twirling them, he began the process of extinguishing them one at a time, dipping the end in the sand quickly before returning it to the air. Once they were unlit, he would toss them to the side.

Till he got to the last one. Only one end was still burning and Jared gave Keenan a wink before tilting his head back. Keenan went red as he slowly realized what he planned on doing. He grabbed his phone and lifted it up to take a picture. He managed to get a perfect shot of Jared swallowing the fire, extinguishing it in his mouth before he dropping the staff to the ground. The redhead let out a huff of smoke from his nostrils like a dragon and Keenan swallowed heavily at the sight.

The audience erupted into cheers and Jared gave one last glance over to where the other man had thrown the staff in. Keenan was clapping as well and followed his gaze but found no one there. Then again, with all the fires now gone out, it was much harder to see in the darkness. Even squinting, he couldn’t see anything. If it weren’t for the fact that there was an extra fire staff on the ground, he would have assumed that other man had been a ghost.

Jared collected his stuff and shoved them into a canvas bag, throwing it over his shoulder before he passed through the crowd of people. Some of them patted him on the shoulder and tried to get his attention but the man seemed dead set on getting away from the large group of people. He only stopped to scoop something up off the ground and shove it into his bag before he met Keenan’s eyes. Jared’s tired look shifted immediately and he smiled, giving him a little gesture with his head. He indicated for him to come along and without anything having to be said between them, they walked side by side towards the shoreline.

Once they were away from the chattering people, Jared sat his bag onto the ground and fell into a cross legged position in the sand. He let out a sated sigh and leaned his weight back on his hands. His knee bobbed up and down in a nervous habit and he glanced over. “Well, what did you think?”

“I cannot believe you ate the fire.” Keenan sat next to him and laughed despite himself. He had been horrified in the moment but seeing how he had done it so flawlessly, had put his worries to rest. “I saw it with my own eyes and yet I still can’t believe it.”

“How is that hard to believe? Drink enough water and all you have to worry about is angling your throat the right way so you don’t burn your esophagus.” Jared ran his thumb and forefinger over his neck to enunciate his point as he spoke. “Then again I have been doing this for years. Were you worried?”

“Can you blame me though? I mean, look at the picture for yourself.” Keenan unlocked his phone and showed him the photo he took earlier. The background was black as night but Jared was clear as day in the middle, lit up brightly as his head was back. The torch’s glow could be seen from within his parted lips, the light giving his eyes the type of sharpness that he only ever witnessed in overexposed film. They looked bright green and he could barely see the pupils at all. Almost like they didn’t exist.

Jared took the phone in his hand and stroked under his chin as he was deep in thought. He hummed and pinched the screen to zoom in on his face. The unnatural glow in his eyes were very apparent in the shot and the fire between his teeth make him look almost draconic, like he was breathing it outwards instead of swallowing it. “Not bad. Ever think about taking up photography as a profession?” He had flipped through a few of Keenan’s pictures and stopped on the one of the volleyball players getting decked in the head. An amused grin curled at the sight of it and he extended his hand out to show a zoomed in shot of the face. “I’d put this up on my wall.”

“Oh yes..” Keenan laughed bitterly taking the phone back once it was offered. He gave the picture a final glance before locking the screen and shoving it into his pocket.. “Because I love the starving artist lifestyle.”

Jared shrugged and tilted his head back again, closing his eyes. “Just a suggestion.”

They both sat there in lengthy silence. The wind coming up from the sea was a nice relief after being in stuffy crowds for so long. Keenan watched the white foaming waves lather at the sand inches from his feet with a fixed expression on his face. “Hey Jared.”

The redhead made a noise that he had heard him but didn’t move, eyes still closed and bangs brushing from the breeze. He looked so content, so beautiful. Keenan quietly contemplated if he could sneak a picture of him while he wasn’t paying attention.

“Who was that during your performance? The one who threw the other staff into your routine?” Keenan heard the sound of heavy footfall as he spoke and there was a high pitched yelp as someone jumped over them and landed in the shallow water in front of them. He threw his hand up to block his face as water splashed from the persons landing.

It was as if he had known they were talking about him. The man currently crouched in front of them was the one from earlier and he was grinning proudly, fingers dipped in the water to hold himself up. He was in a frog like stance and looked back and forth between the two men. His grin grew at Keenan’s bewildered gaze before he turned to face Jared and began splashing water at him like a kid wanting attention. “Jared!”

“..the fuck?” The water went down the front of the redhead and his eyes shot open, narrowing into a glare at the sight before him. He sputtered and shot up, getting soaked from head to foot as the other man kept splashing him. Jared snarled and stumbled from how fast he moved to get at him, darting into the shallow water with his arms extended before him. “Goddammit. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?!”

They ran around in a circle for a bit before they ended up on the beach, doing laps around Keenan. They continued to dart back and forth, keeping Keenan in the center like that would prevent Jared from diving over him to grab him. Jared started to get tired of chasing the man and leaned forward, grabbing his knees to pant while the other man stopped in front of Keenan. 

He ran fingers through dark blonde hair and made a gesture like he was offering a hand. “To answer the question that’s undoubtedly burning in your mind, my name is- ooof!” He was tackled to the ground from behind by Jared and the two of them rolled around on the sandy beach before they came to a stop a few feet away.

Keenan sat there, not knowing what to say as the two of them continued to play fight in the sand. He looked back and forth between the two of them and rested his chin in his palm. He was far more amused about the situation taking place than he’d like to admit and was chuckling as Jared and the man were still fumbling in the sand when suddenly there was a loud popping noise at the end of the beach, followed by a whistle that shot overhead. It sounded like air being expelled at a fast pace. They all looked up at the sound just as the black sky lit up into an expanding blossom of colours. Bright red sparkles traced across the sky before dying out and the night became dark again. There was a cheer from down the beach and all the lights from the celebration had dimmed down to make things darker for the display.

“Fireworks have started.” Keenan called out and the both of them looked over, covered in sand and still grappling with each other. He tilted his head as he caught sight of the other man’s back as he was adjusting his shirt. The man had similar tattoos to the ones that Jared had but unlike the redheads that were long curved slashes, his were wavy squiggles that started from his forearms and disappeared under his short sleeves. The fact that the two of them had such an extensive amount of ink covering their body really intrigued Keenan. He wondered briefly if they had cultural meaning or if they were just there for aesthetics. Either way, they looked really cool.

The man caught him staring and elbowed Jared in the ribs, slipping out of his grip much to his frustration. “Oooh, sky flowers. This is always my favourite part of Messis.” His tone was gleeful as he flopped down next to Keenan and winked, offering his hand once more. Despite smiling, his gaze was wary glancing over as if waiting for Jared to tackle him again. “Name’s Tanner.”

“Keenan.”

There was a pause and the man tilted his head to the side. He wore a sly smirk on his face and hummed. Tanner looked like he had come to a realization and content laughter fell from his lips. “Keenan, eh?”

“Don’t do it.” Jared warned as he sat down next to Keenan. He brushed off the sand on his neck and looked irritated that he was covered from heat to foot. At Tanner’s words, he leaned forward to glare at him. “Seriously..” He was daring his buddy with a long stare and narrowed his eyes when Tanner ignored him and carried on with a smile.

“What? I just want to make our friend here aware of his name. Surely he’d be interested to know what it means.” He didn’t seem to realize what how his words had impacted Keenan until he saw him curl into himself and flop dramatically onto his side, making a frustrated noise. “Whoa, what’s wrong?”

Another firework went off and Jared’s sigh could barely be heard from the whistling in the air. The silence that followed came hand in hand with a quietly murmured ‘god damn it’. He rested a reassuring hand on Keenan’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze, seeing how close to frustrated tears he was. “Tanner, I’m pretty sure he already know.”

“Really? Someone already told you eh?” The man looked over and Keenan was almost taken aback by the colour of the fireworks in his eyes. They lit up dangerously and for a second looked for too dilated to be natural. Just as he was starting to come to the conclusion that maybe the man was on some sort of drug, another sparkler went by overhead and he saw that Tanner’s eyes were normal after all. It must have been a trick of the light. 

Keenan shook his head and tried to return to the conversation, ignoring the nervousness that was gnawing at his innards. “Yeah, like the first ten times.” He looked away and let out a tired huff. 

That noise was swallowed as another bang resounded above them and more fireworks continued to explode in the sky. The number of booms picked up and the designs grew more flashy and over the top. There were whistlers that screamed as they shot to the heavens followed with blossoms of glitter that slowly flitted back to the ground, covering the canvas of the sky in thousands of glittering gold stars.

“Oh, I like those ones.” Tanner hummed and leaned back fully in the sand, crossing his feet at the ankles. He pointed at them and murmured quiet comments to himself as they burst in the skin, looking content to just lay there and go nowhere. He started humming, a vibrato that was low and almost impossible to pick up from the echo of explosions overhead. “So pretty…”

Keenan nodded at Tanner’s words. The man may have seemed strange at first but he was obviously a good friend of Jared’s. Not too mention, his lax mannerisms were infectious. Keenan was practically yawning himself, wanting nothing more than to curl up on the beach and sleep beneath the stars. His eyes were drooping but a brush to his shoulder brought him back from his tired state. He glanced over to see Jared bumping him to get his attention. Once their eyes met, he was given a brilliant smile. His cheeks felt warm at the sight of Jared pulling something from his bag. He watched as he produced a small brilliant flower that looked exactly like the ones that had been in his hair. 

“Oh, my boo gain lily?” Keenan murmured, gazing down at it in the redheads hand. It looked so small when it was broken apart from the rest of the vine. He couldn’t believe that the man had the afterthought of saving a bit of his flower crown. The brilliant blue looked so vivid under the light of the fireworks.

“Bougainvilleas.” Jared correctly with a single finger raised. He smiled and took it between two fingers, twirling it before he reached forward to gently place in Keenan’s hair. His warm hand brushed the fringe out of his eyes so he could tuck the small flower above his ear. “You were close though.”

Keenan turned red, his ears burning hot as Jared’s hand didn’t pull back but instead traced a gently path along his cheek and under his chin. His lower lip trembled once their eye contact broke. Jared’s gaze had trailed down to his lips and his heart began to race a thousand miles a minute as hope blossomed in his chest again. The cracking of fireworks overhead went unheeded as they grew closer, hips touching and noses bumping. Keenan rested a hand on the curve of his shoulder, his thumb following the line of ink there. 

Jared’s skin was warm under his palm and he could feel each exhale, the sky going dark again above head. In that moment, hidden away from view, Keenan leaned in for a kiss. His eyes were closed and his heart beat like it was trying to escape from his chest. Just as their lips brushed, Jared pulled back with a small noise. Keenan almost blindly followed the motion and fell over as he was no longer leaned in towards him. He caught himself and opened his eyes to see that Jared was not looking at him anymore.

The redhead had a startled expression on his face but it wasn’t directed at him. His gaze was over his shoulder and aimed at Tanner who was now sitting up with trembling shoulders. He slipped free from Keenan’s grip and gave him an apologetic look before coming to his friend's side. 

Keenan wanted to be upset but he found himself feeling more disappointed, especially in himself. A small voice in the back of his head was angrily demanding what he was doing. This was almost a complete stranger and he was falling headfirst without thinking of any future reprecisions. He wasn’t exactly the type of person to rush headfirst into a relationship and yet here he was about to make out with a man that he had only just met today. 

Even if things did end up working and they tried the whole ‘dating thing’, he only had a month of vacation before going home. He doubted another long distance relationship would work out and thinking the man would ever want to go with him back to Los Angeles was a helpless dream. To bring him to the city was like trying to keep an exotic animal as a pet. He belonged here on the island. He couldn’t even imagine how expensive it would be to try and stay here. There was no way he’d be able to afford to stay even if he desired to do so. All in all, it was a relationship doomed to fail before it even began. Keenan bemoaned his luck quietly to himself, watching Jared as he kneeled next to Tanner.

Keenan had so many questions about what was happening in front of him as the redhead began rubbing at his friends back. It didn’t take long for things to click that something was really wrong as Tanner’s quiet shaking shoulders got more violent and his heaving became audible. Jared was thumping his back, hitting the space between his shoulder blades as if he were trying to dislodge something. A few seconds of hacking later and Tanner brought up a stream of clear fluid, heaving it into the sand in front of him. It was like mucus, disgusting and stringy and he spit out as much as he could, taking deep breaths as he desperately clawed at the ground.

Keenan was up on his feet and at Tanner’s other side in an instance. He looked at Jared with a worried crease in his brow, not really knowing what to do but wanting to help at the same time. “How can I help?” His hand was hovering over Tanner’s shoulder wondering if he needed help patting his back. The brunette was breathing raggedly and his head was lulled lazily to the side as if hacking and coughing had taken all the energy he had to spare.

“I need to get him home.” Jared looked up with a tender gaze. His eyes were full of a thousand unnamed emotions that had been left unsaid between the two of them. He smiled at Keenan and looked like he wanted to say something before a clearing throat drew his attention away. At that, he directing a frustrated glare at Tanner. “How long?”

Tanner stayed on his hands and knees, still spitting as if trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth. He made a horrible gurgle before glancing up through damp bangs. He looked physically worn out. The bags under his eyes were heavy and his tattoos were prominent on pale skin. “I was just dancing at the village and..”

Jared didn’t even let him finish, already throwing his hands up in the air like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His voice took on a tone of disbelief and he hissed out in frustration, eyes narrowed dangerously. “That party was like hours ago. Are you fucking insane?”

“Sorry..” Tanner trailed off again, eyes diverted in a shameful display. His arms were trembling to hold up his weight and he clawed at the ground weakly till his fingers were buried deep in the sand. His voice was but a whisper like he was almost fearful of incurring more of Jared’s wrath.

“And you’re older than me.. But I suppose with age comes stupidity.” Jared berated. He hooked an arm around Tanner’s waist and lifted him up to his feet. There was a moment of struggle but he managed to get his friend to stand up mostly by himself. He turned the two of them in a direction away from the hotel and was glancing around for something when Keenan called out to him.

“Wait, you forgot this.” Keenan scooped up Jared’s bag and threw it over one shoulder, running over to the two of them. He offered it at arm's length, despite every part of him wanting to grab ahold of Jared and not let go. But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t be so greedy despite a part of him wanting to be. He was still sore from how close he had been and he bit it back, trying to school his features into something neutral as the second set of fireworks continued overhead. He must have done a horrible job hiding what he wanted because Jared gave him a double take before loosening his grip around his friend and approaching.

Keenan handed the bag to him between trembling fingers but was caught off guard as Jared tugged it instead of just taking it normally. That jerking motion forced him to stumble two steps forward in the sand. The redhead smirked down at the embarrassed noise he made and caught him with a playful tilt to his head. Before Keenan could speak up or question what he was doing, he drew him in close with a hand at his waist.

Their lips finally met in that fatefully teased kiss. The bag fell from both their hands, long forgotten in favour of pulling each other closer. The fireworks booming above the beach were nothing compared to the ones going off in Keenan’s head. His heart was thudding so heavy he swore it would burst from his chest at any given moment. He reached up and smoothed his palms up Jared’s arms and over his shoulders. His fingers interlocked behind his head to maintain his posture as his knees had gone weak. 

Jared had threaded fingers through his hair and held him close, his other finding a handhold at his waist. He made a content noise against Keenan’s lips as their noises bumped. 

The kiss was confusing and messy but it was absolutely perfect in every way. Keenan heard more hacking in the distance and despite not wanting the moment to end, he knew that it couldn’t last forever. He pulled away and his eyes fluttered open slowly to see the soft expression on Jared’s face. The redhead was looking down with a little smile, his hands journeying up to cup at either side of his face.

Keenan gazed up through dark lashes and felt himself smile in return. His cheeks felt so hot and his heart was beating wildly in his chest. A part of him was scared that if he let go, he would collapse onto his knees. His body was thrumming with nervous energy. It was almost addictive. Keenan untangled his arms and lowered them from Jared’s shoulders, knowing that he had to let him go. Even if he wanted nothing more than to kiss him into oblivion.

Jared gave his cheek one last stroke before he parted from the embrace. He grabbed his bag and started walking back towards Tanner, who was keeled over and trembling again. He threw the bag over one arm and grabbed his friend with the other. They started back down the beach, walking away from the hotel and further from the celebration that was ongoing.

“J-Jared!” He bit his lower lip and looked away with red burning at his ears. He glanced back to see those dark eyes staring back at him with a heated look. His breath stuttered and he swallowed heavily. He was so fucked.. “I.. Can I see you again?”

The redhead seemed taken aback by that and looked to say something but glanced down as Tanner murmured something under his breath. He looked pissed off at his friend and gave him a little shake, taking more of his weight for him. Despite looking dead tired, Tanner was still grinning in his grip and gave keenan a little victorious thumbs up. Jared didn’t see it though, too fixated on Keenan. “You’re at the hotel right?”

Keenan nodded. He didn’t trust his voice right now. The finale overhead had just ended and the beach was filled in heavy silence before cheering from the crowd picked up in the distance. It was too far and too faint to hide the response that the redhead gave him. There was no mistaking his words.

“I’ll come to you.” Jared promised. It sounded like he was going to say more but he trailed off at his friend cooing. He huffed before continuing in a lower tone, more gravely and frustrated. “I got to get sleeping dumbass home.”

“It’s sleeping beauty..”

“Shut up.”

Keenan listened as their bickering grew more distance and he waved, despite standing completely in the darkness. He flushed and raised a hand to his face. His fingers traced over his lips as if doing so would forever engrave that kiss forever in his mind. He felt so content and let out a sigh, practically floating as he returned to the ongoing festivities. If anyone noticed how overjoyed he was for the rest of the evening, they didn’t say anything. 

His fingers continued to reach up ever so often to feel if the little flower was still in his hair and every time he felt it there, he would smile at the recollection of warm hands tucking it behind his ear. There was a little voice in the back of his head telling him that he was moving too fast and that he would just end up getting hurt again. There was so much that could go wrong, especially since he had so easily rushed headfirst into a relationship with practically a stranger. He might end up heartbroken and regretting his actions in the future. 

Keenan shook his head and refused to think more on those thoughts. That little voice was being far from helpful at the moment. He couldn't think about the ‘what if’s and the ‘could have’s. He was in the here and now. He had plenty of time to rethink his life's decisions in the future and right now, he was still riding the high of kissing one of the most beautiful people he had laid eyes on.

He danced with so many people that night and even went a few turns with the shy man who had been glancing over his way all night. They laughed and kicked up sand as they spun around and had a good time. Keenan was lowered into a dip and they bowed one last time before switching partners again. The rest of the night was spent like that, dancing and cheering out to lyrics that eventually he picked up on after a while.

A few hours later of celebrating Messis with the villagers and he practically floated back into his hotel, passing by Nori with a content sigh. She was frantically inquiring about how his day had gone and when he didn’t answer her, began to berate him for abandoning her. Keenan didn’t say a word and just looked down at her with a dopey little smile. 

Nori paused and puffed out her cheeks, even going so far as stomping her heel like a child. Her actions didn’t get her a reaction as he continued on by. She watched Keenan with a confused quirk of her brow as he entered the elevator and gave her a little dreamy wave as the door closed in front of him. 

Nothing was going to ruin his evening. He practically flopped face first on his bed and untucked the flower to rest it safely on his bedside table. For a moment, he was almost tempted to place it in a very foolish location before shaking that idea away and setting his glasses next to it on the table. He curled his arms around the pillow, pulling it close to his chest in a comforting gesture. 

Keenan cared little about how silly he must have looked, crushing like a schoolgirl on a man he only knew for a day. He was too happy to care. It had been so long since he felt this way and he was content with how things had turned out. A long yawn fell from his lips and his eyes fluttered shut as he drifted off to sleep.

***


	4. Persuasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keenan tilted his head down to smirk down at her over his sunglasses. "I have a date."
> 
> “A date?! Who.. Where?.. When did..” Nori was unable to finish a single sentence, her hands in front of her like she was trying to grasp reality in her hands.
> 
> She stomped her foot and pointed at him demandingly. “I demand details! How did you get a date on like day two of your vacation?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is going to be more than five chapters. I really didn't plan the spacing out properly in the document so it'll be 8 with maybe an epilogue.

“Really?!” A ten year old Keenan gasped, looking up from the small slips of paper in his hands. It was his birthday and instead of a box with his gift, he had received an envelope instead. Initially, he had been suspicious about the whole thing but his mother urged him to open it before digging into his cake. He had torn into it to find three tickets for a scheduled cruise that was known for passing by migrations of whales. His tears had already started to flow before he could even stop them.

He wiped his eyes on his sleeves and continued to weep to the horror of his parents. His mother approached as if to comfort him but pulling back his sleeve revealed that behind all those tears, he was beaming happily. “This is the best gift ever.” Keenan laughed as he cried, much to the relief of his parents. They had looked worried that he wouldn’t be happy with his gift.

He ran into his mom's arms and hugged her tightly, the tickets clenched tight in his grip as he did so. She picked him up from the ground and rocked him back and forth, pressing a kiss to his brow before setting him back on the ground. “Oh, your welcome Keenan.”

His father was the next on his hugging list and the man barely got his arms open before Keenan jumped up into them. He made a startled noise like the ten year old was too heavy for him before he lifted him high above his head and spun him around. The two laughed without a care in the world before his father lowered him to his feet and ruffling his hair. “We’ve been planning this for a long time. You have no idea how hard it was to pretend that we had no idea about that cruise in Quebec.”

“I know you must have been disappointed when we told you that we couldn’t go.” His mother continued, already returning to her earlier task of cutting the birthday cake. She set a slice on a plate and licked the icing off her finger. “We couldn’t exactly tell you that we already ordered the tickets.”

Keenan was beaming up at his parents as the piece of cake was set down at the table. He put the tickets next to the plate and climbed up into his chair, grabbing his fork to dig into his dessert. He was ecstatic over the gift his parents had gotten him. So what if others thought his interests were boring and nerdy, his parents thought his love of whales was wonderful and was always there to nurture that love. He didn’t need his friends to understand. He loved what he loved and that was all that mattered. 

He ate his cake happily while eyeing the tickets on the table. They were printed with blue waves and little whales all over them. The white text beneath the date boasted about the thirteen different types of whales the cruise was known for. 

It was the second best day of his life.

***

Keenan woke up in bed, dazed and confused at the sound of ringing. His sheets had been kicked off in the middle of the night and his lower half was hanging off the bed from all his tossing and turning. He uncurled his arms from around his pillow and smacked his lips to get the dry taste out of his mouth. The ringing continued and he sat up slowly, blindly seeking the phone out without his glasses.

His hand found the irritating device and with another yawn, he lifted it from its cradle and pinned it between his shoulder and ear. “..llo?” 

Keenan’s voice was like a gravelly croak and he turned the mouthpiece away from his face to clear his throat before trying again. “Hello?”

“Good morning Sir. Front desk.” There was a woman on the other end. It didn’t sound like Nori though. “You have a gentlemen here who wishes to speak to you.”

He immediately shot up from his seated position and exhaled as the events from last night quickly came back to him. His face was hot to the touch and he tried to compose him, sitting back down and nodding. “Oh? Yes, please put him on.”

There was a shuffling and the sound of muffled conversation before a familiar voice came on the line. “Hey Keenan.”

“Jared.” The name fell from his lips almost too breathily and he flushed as he received a chuckle in response. 

“You sound like you just woke up.” Jared made a noise like he was stretching. “You know it’s like eleven in the morning right? You’re burning sunlight just staying in bed.”

Keenan patted himself down as he looked for his phone and he pulled it out to confirm what the other man had said. He flopped back with a disgruntled noise, phone still pressed to his ear as he did so. His own phone showed the time flashing in front of the new background he had added when he got back from the fireworks. He was going to change it to the picture of Jared firespinning but that moment of bravery faded almost as quickly as it rose up. He instead had set his wallpaper to a picture of the beach. 

“I had no idea. I guess I’m just not used to the times here yet.” He stared up at his phone screen for a few seconds longer before letting it drop onto his stomach with a small thump. “Maybe tonight I’ll set an alarm to wake me up next time.”

“Well, I guess it’s partially my fault. I did say I’d come visit you today so you would have had to wait..Yes, yes.. I know, I won’t be long.” Jared let out a long sigh, his voice suddenly sounding away from the mic as he was talking to someone else. He appeared to be directing his frustration at the woman at the front desk and after another moment of muffled arguing, he returned to talking to Keenan. “Yeah so.. Are you doing anything today?”

Keenan made a noncommittal noise and tapped his bottom lip as he thought. He didn’t really know about all of the sights on the island, having only been told about a few from Nori. There were a few locations written on the flyer he had been given but he had only perused it with a glance. He hadn’t been interested in the hundreds of ‘fine dining’ options. They all advertised the same thing. Seafood dishes and views of the ocean. He could get that anywhere in the island. 

“Nori wanted to take me to the bird conservatory today.” Keenan recalled that she had been excited to take him there once she found out how much he liked the wildlife on the island. Apparently it was the go to place for tourist.

“Fuck that. I’ll take you there.” Jared boasted proudly. “I know someone that works there. She could get us in for free.”

That brought a smile to Keenan’s face and he ran a hand through his messy hair, leaning his weight back in a leisurely lounge. “Why Jared.. Are you asking me out on a date?”

There was a long silence that Keenan snickered at. He was quietly cheering over his brave words, happy that he had said what he wanted to for once instead of backing down with shy glances. He could only imagine how embarrassed the redhead must look right now and imagined that he was probably red faced and gaping like a fish at the bluntness of his words. The picture his mind painted was a beautiful one and he smirked. 

His grin faded however when he received a hum and Jared’s voice dipped down dangerously low. His voice was heavy in the phone and almost reverberated from how he sounded. “And if I am?”

“If you were..” It was Keenan’s turn to sputter and he made a weak noise in the back of his throat, hoping to any deity listening that he hadn’t heard him. He coughed into his fist and glanced down at his lap nervously. He exhaled and chewed his lower lip, face feeling far too hot to the touch. “I would say that I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”

“Then I’ll see you then.” The redhead hung up without another word and Keenan held the phone to his ear for a moment longer before he hung up as well and flopped backwards on the bed. His face was red at the thought of going on a date. It had been so long since he had been on one, years even. Now he was going on a date with a man he had only known for a day but wanted nothing more than to get to know him better. 

Keenan wanted to continue rolling around on his bed but he really didn’t want to keep Jared waiting. He shot up and glanced over at his suitcase worriedly. He had nothing nice to wear that screamed ‘date night’ and that made him a little nervous. He wanted to dress his best if they were going to make a whole day of it. Keenan only spent a minute tearing through the clothes he brought before giving up with hands thrown in the air. “I have nothing to wear.”

“Fuck it..” His mind was racing a mile a minute in full blown panic mode and he needed something to level his head again. He scratched both hands through his hair in a nervous gesture while taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a few exhales, he finally settled on a shower before anything else. He also needed to brush the bad taste out of his mouth and maybe . “I’ll figure something out.. Hopefully..”

Keenan must have set a world record from how fast he had showered, brushed his teeth and got dressed. Once he got over his initial panic of what to wear, things got a lot easier for him. He brushed his hair till it was under some semblance of control and decided on a long sleeved button down shirt that he had packed in case of a formal event. He rolled up the sleeves to show off the different coloured material that lined the inside and pulled on a dark pair of khakis that looked like they would match the top.

“Shoes or sandals..” He trailed off, holding each of them in one hand. He tilted side to side like a scale as he was coming to his decision and eventually he decided on the sandals. It was far too hot to be wearing shoes. Besides, he really didn’t want one of those awkward looking tan lines where his socks would be. “Five more minutes…”

Keenan checked the time on his phone and struggled a bit as he popped in his contact lenses. He grabbed his sunglasses and rested them on the bridge of his nose. Once he was done and had everything he needed, he closed the front door and walked to the elevator. He had to swallow the nervousness thrumming through his veins at the thought of seeing through the glass walls of the elevator as it raises up to surface. He hated that feeling that grew in the pit of his stomach every time he saw the deep blue of the ocean be couldn’t help himself. 

Keenan adjusted his watch nervously as he waited for the elevator to arrive to pick him up, dreading every second as they ticked by. It hadn’t been fifteen minutes yet but he still felt bad for making Jared wait. He glanced down at the time just as the doors in front of him dinged and slid open. Before he even got a chance to move, he was assaulted by someone yelling his name.

He jolted and looked down to see Nori had run out of the elevator that arrived and grabbed hold of him. She was grinning up at him happily, looking up through green bangs with her arms around his waist. Usually people getting close and physical wasn’t a problem for Keenan, having been known to be a clingy hugger whenever drunk but right now he was on a tight schedule and couldn’t stick around.

“Keenan! Oh, I’m so glad you're already awake. Here I was thinking I would have to knock on your door again and again till you woke up. But if you’re already away, that means we can just get going. No waiting around.” Her mouth was running a mile a minute and Keenan had to politely pry her from his hip with a reserved smile on face. “I have a grand day planned for us, trust me on that. Think of it as me making up for not guiding you around Messis. Oh, did you do something with your hair? It looks floofier than usual. Hey quick question, how do you feel about manta rays?”

He wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to her, worried that Nori would be upset with him abandoning her again but if there was anything he had learned in life, it was usually easier to let people down quickly. It was like peeling off a band-aid, he just had to tear it off with one quick pull. He stepped into the elevator and lifted a hand to stop her from getting in with him. “Yeah.. about that.”

“What’s wrong? Oh no, you’re not planning on running off on me again are you?”

At Nori’s confused look, he tilted his head down to smirk down at her over his sunglasses. He nodded to confirm her suspicions and he maintained a hand against her shoulder to keep her from pushing into the elevator. “Sorry, I can’t go with you. Not today.” 

“I have a date.” The word felt right to say and taken aback expression he received was worth its weight in gold. Keenan took that moment of distracted silence to click the ‘door close’ button, hoping to escape before she asked more questions.

“A date?! Who.. Where?.. When did..” Nori was unable to finish a single sentence, her hands in front of her like she was trying to grasp reality in her hands before she stomped her foot and pointed at him demandingly. “I demand details! How did you get a date on like day two of your vacation?”

“A magician never reveals his secret.” Keenan just gave her a little playful wave as the doors began to close. “Buh-bye~” He watched as just before the door closed, Nori bolted over to where the other elevator was. She was undoubtedly to try and catch up with him to interrogate him further but if he timed it right, him and Jared would be out the door before her elevator would arrive.

Once in the lobby, Keenan took a walk around to see if Jared was still hanging around inside the building. There was no one at the front desk and the receptionist looked awfully bored. She gave him a casual glance as he walked by but said nothing, snapping her gum before returning to her book. All the tourists must be out of the hotel if she was just sitting around doing nothing productive.

Keenan’s eyes trailed across the room till they finally landed on a figure sitting on a bench near the blossoming stone statue. They were the only one in the lobby that looked out of place. The person was hunched forward with their elbows resting on their knees. It could have been Jared but he couldn’t be too sure. The person was wearing a short sleeved hoodie and short but with the hood up, he couldn't tell who it was.

He walked over and stopped directly in front of them. The person was drawn from their daze as his feet entered their vision and he watched the hood slowly raise as they followed his legs up to his face. Keenan diverted his eyes and coughed into his fist, feeling uneasy at the burning stare. 

They tilted their head to the side revealing a familiar curve of lips before his suspicion was confirmed even more at the disgruntled noise they made. “Well, certainly took you long enough.”

“Lay off.” Keenan rolled his eyes at him and tapped his watch before crossing his arms over his chest. “I said fifteen minutes. I’m far from late.”

Jared got up from the bench and made a satisfying noise as his joints clicked. He indicated with a hand towards the door, though his eyes had drifted over to the receptionist. “Shall we?”

“Yes please. I’d rather be out of here before Nori catches up.” Keenan glanced over towards the elevators but no one was there yet. He took that as a good sign and began the process of pushing Jared towards the exit.

The man allowed himself to be shoved but didn’t make it easy, leaning his weight back with every step Keenan managed to make him take. He laughed heartily as he was getting more and more frustrated at his refusal to move. “Who’s Nori? I thought you said that you came here alone?”

“She’s my guide. Shit, there she is.” Keenan grabbed at Jared’s sides and forcefully turned him so he could use the redhead as a physical shield. He maintained a grip on his hoodie and started walking backwards, looking back and forth as hotel employees passed by them. They were looking at the situation taking place with confused expressions.

Jared laughed and reached behind him swipe around blindly. He found the loops of Keenan’s belt and tugged them gently. “Yes, because this doesn’t look suspicious at allll…. Totally not being held hostage here.” He trailed off in a sarcastic tone, much louder this time as an employee glanced over at him.

“Oh shut up. I told her I was going on a date and now she probably wants all the details.” 

“Well we certainly can’t let that happen, now can we?” Jared unhooked his fingers from Keenan’s belt and turned around to face him, the playful expression had shifted to one of seriousness before a grin broke out at the questioning look he received. “We run on three.”

“In this heat?” Keenan bemoaned, glancing over to see how bright it looked outside. He wasn’t looking forward to running along the boardwalk, directly under the sun but one glance over at Nori and he nodded. The green haired woman had seen him and gave a little wave, starting to walk over to them. “Oh no, she’s seen us. Fuck.. We go now.”

“Now.” Jared agreed and took his hand, interlocking their fingers. He gave him a reassuring smile and turned so they were both facing the doorway that led out of the hotel. Once the path before them was clear, he gave their joined hands a squeeze and bolted with long strides out of the lobby. They didn’t have to slow down in the least as they both kept up with each other’s pace well. 

Once they were outside, Jared took a sharp turn and dragged a confused Keenan off the boardwalk and into a natural path that curved around the structure and through the brush. There were some low hanging branches and trees that obscured it mostly from view but Jared lifted them up as they approached to reveal the natural path. From an outsider's perspective, it would have looked like an abstract gathering of floral to make the border between boardwalk and hill look visually appealing. But once you were standing in it, it was obvious that the path was worn down from so many people that must have passed through it.

It wasn’t like the man made stairwell that led up to the village. That one was obvious to spot and was definitely meant to be the path that tourists were meant to take. This truly was the path least travelled. From the way Jared was moving, he knew this hidden path well enough to practically run through it blind. It curled back and forth among the trees in a serpentine manner before leading up to the same village he had been at yesterday. Or at least, it looked rather similar.

Keenan couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling forth at the knowledge of running away with Jared, even if it was just for a day. He was more than happy to spend as much time with him as he possibly could. The man made him feel a sense of exhilaration and freedom that he hadn’t felt in years. 

He looked over at Jared and their eyes locked, their happiness almost infectious as they ran. He was beaming up at him and Jared was grinning back. The light reflected through his hair as the wind blew his hair upwards, making him look almost like some sort of phoenix in the form of man. He was lit up brightly under the warm sun and the black streaks of his tattoos were boldly shown along his upper arms. The sleeveless hoodie hide the rest of them from view but Keenan could picture them in his head by just closing his eyes. He could remember how his fingers traced them as they kissed, thumbs smoothing down the stark black lines that lit up under the lights of the fireworks overhead.

Keenan was in his own thought and hoped that the heat on his cheeks was indistinguishable from being under the hot sun. He didn’t need Jared knowing just how hot under the collar he was getting from just being near the other man. Their feet continued to kick up sand as they ran until a glance between them, told them everything they needed to know. They had made a clean getaway and no one had followed them.

Once they were out from the tree line and on the sandy clearing of the village, the two of them stopped and kneeled over to catch their breath. Both heaved out bursts of laughter as they revelled in the fact that they had gotten away without being caught.

“I doubt she’ll be following us after that.” Jared managed between pants, his laughter coming out breathy as he indicated to the trees behind them with his thumb. The hotel couldn’t be seen from behind the low hanging canopy of trees and creeping brush.

Keenan was inclined to agree with him. He hadn't even realized that path had been there until Jared had pointed it out and he highly doubted anyone not native to the island was aware of the hidden twists and turns around them. Glancing around, he continued to puff out in short breaths as he took in the sight of all the people setting up stalls and bringing out fresh produce for sale.

“We need to pass through here but the aviary isn’t too far away.” Jared lifted a hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the sun. With his other hand he indicated towards a rounded glass structure that was raised just above the tree line in the distance. 

The outside had the hexagonal segments of a golf ball that formed the perfectly round roof that disappeared into the trees. The bottom of the building couldn’t be seen but from how big the glass dome at the top looked, it definitely would be expansive on in the inside. 

Keenan followed his gaze and noted how close it really was. It couldn’t have been more than a ten minute walk away from the village. Good thing too. He already had sweat on his brow from the heat. The faster they could get out of the sun, the better. “Can we stop and get a drink first? I didn’t bring anything with me and I don’t want to get heat stroke again.”

“Again?” Jared gave him a look and his hand drifted up to his side to graze over keenan’s arm. His fingers trailed up till he rested his palm on his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Their eyes met and there was a deep seeded worry in Jared’s gaze. His features had softened up and even the crease in his brow had smoothed over. “You were sick before?”

Keenan tried to wave it off casually as if nothing was wrong but the hand at his shoulder kept him from trying to escape without an answer. He looked over and smiled, resting his hand on Jared’s. “It’s fine. I just got a little sick from being out in the sun or something..”

“Or something..” Jared repeated, tilted his head as he made a noise to coax out more of a response from him.

“Really. I had Nori with me. She made sure I got to my room alright. I’m fine.” At Jared’s frown, he gave their joined hands a squeeze before dropping his. While Keenan found the other man’s protective nature endearing, he didn’t want the fact that he had gotten sick once to ruin his day out. He just wanted to spend a day with Jared, just the two of them wandering the island and enjoying his vacation. “Really, I promise.”

Jared let his hand fall from his shoulder and glanced away, expression hidden. “Promise me you’ll tell me if your feeling sick again.” His voice dipped low as he spoke, almost choked like he was trying to hold back something in his throat. After a long heavy second, he turned his head back to face him, showing the uncertain lines in his brow.

Keenan felt a bubble of confidence in his chest. He exhaled in one long breath and gently rose a hand to caress along Jared’s neck. He felt a tremor of his pulse under his palm as he journeyed up to his cheek and took hold of his face with both hands. They came together like waves lapping at the shore, a gently pulling that brought their lips together once more. 

The kiss was short and chaste but it was perfect, almost as good as the first they had shared. Perhaps it was even better because this time, there was no mistaking the pink on Jared’s face for the colours of fireworks. There was no second guessing the look in his eyes and the way his lips curled up in that cocky, self assured smirk despite the way his glasses were slightly askew on his face.

“I promise.” He whispered against his lips, using his index finger to push Jared’s glasses back up the bridge of his nose before smiling and parting from his embrace. He hadn’t even realized that the man had fully wound him in his arms as they kissed.

“Well, I’ll definitely be holding you to that.” Jared scratched the back of his neck and tilted his head, trying to play off the blush burning across his ears. He fell into easy step next to Keenan and guided him around knowing this place by heart. The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder along the main street of the village, their feet kicking up white sand with every step. No one seemed to take notice of them as they passed by several houses bumping elbows and joking back and forth.

This village was quite different than the one he had been at earlier. This place seemed less focused on being a tourist trap and more about maintaining their roots and taking care of their own. There were bright colours and fabrics everywhere but they weren’t on display like they were during Messis. They were no longer being used as decorations and the fine woven baskets and clothing were being bought and sold to the various people walking between the stalls. 

Keenan looked left and right to get a better scope of the village’s size. There were houses lined up in a perfect row along the sandy floor. They were positioned in a way that made the village look like a single road with homes on either side. It made it easy to see people coming from a house at the end of the street and coming towards them. There were dozens of villagers walking back and forth, carrying baskets and bags full of wares to sell and trade. Several stalls for trading were set up every few houses and had windchimes hanging off them. They swung and rang in the wind, the sound drawing the attention of people looking to buy their goods. 

The village was alive with sights and sounds and the smell of sweet tanged food being prepared from somewhere that Keenan couldn’t see but he could probably find it if he followed his nose. His stomach growled as a reminded of him not eating, his hands falling down to rub at it comfortingly and he flushed at the laughter from behind him.

“That’s right. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” 

Keenan shook his head and was rewarded with a gentle brush of shoulder on shoulder. He looked up as Jared took a few steps in front of him and tilted his head upwards like he was following a scent in the air. The redhead let out a long exhale and peered over his shoulder at him.

“Come, I know just the place to grab something to eat.” Jared started to walk again but stopped so he could catch up again. “Did you bring any money with you?”

Keenan did a mental count in his head, recalling how much he had brought with him on his trip. Most of it was in his account so he could need a bank machine but he did have some on him in case he found himself in a situation where he found something he couldn’t not buy. He nodded at the question.

“American?”

He nodded again and Jared hummed, stroking a hand under his chin. “Small denominations I hope. You don’t really need much around here and waving around anything bigger than a twenty will get heads turning.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Keenan balked at that before coughing into his fist. He looked around as casually as he could before glancing back up at the redhead. He hadn’t travelled in many years and those times were when he was a child and didn’t have to worry about money. He had heard horror stories about travellers being mugged in foreig countries but to have that brought up so casually when everyone so far had been nice was worrying to say the least.

“It’s not bad. Everyone for the most part won’t mind. But you do get that one bad egg in the bunch who just doesn’t care.” Jared smirked at the look he got and continued to boast with a thumb indicating to himself. “Don’t worry about that. Luckily for you, you got yourself your own personal tour guide and not just one of those hotel guides either. Someone who knows the island like a local would.”

Keenan beamed at him, brightened up instantaneously at Jared’s words. He clasped his hands together on his chin and inclined his head in a mock swoon. “My hero.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Keenan was pulled away from his laughter at the sound of giggling to the right of him and caught sight of a figure hiding underneath the house that they were passing by. He saw Jared shrug casually at him so he knelt to get a better view of the space beneath the structure. All the houses were positioned on short stilts in a way that he assumed was to keep the homes from sinking during wet weather. Because of the stilted bases, there was a small space under the porch with just enough room for someone to sneak around underneath if they so desired to do so.

The giggling picked up and just as Keenan was squinting into the dark, a small boarish creature leapt out from underneath the home and kicked up sand as it skittered to a stop in front of him. The small stubby creature looked up at Keenan and their trunk like nose tweaked as they approached him. Their dark glossy eyes didn’t seem to see him so much as they could smell and hear him. Small ears twitched as Keenan lifted his hands, palm forward in a placating gesture. 

“Oh, hey there.. Don't bite me please.” He extended his hand and the small creature approached him on cloven feet. They seemed to contemplate his smell for a long second before they butted their head into his palm. The small beast didn't appear wild despite not wearing any collar of any sorts and seemed content to breath heavily against his palm. Their breath was almost ticklish and Keenan looked over to Jared who had joined him, crouching next to him. “I’ve seen something like this before but I forget the name..”

“That's a tapir. Weird looking things, aren't they? Look at their stupid little trunks.” Despite the distaste in his tone, he was smiling and reaching a hand out to rub along the short fur of their back. The tapir glanced over to see who was touching them before turning back to Keenan with a content butt of the head. They seemed happy to stand there and be given all sorts of attention from the two men.

Keenan made little cooing noises and shook his head at Jared’s words, reached up to scratch under the tapirs chin. “Oh, don't listen to him. Your just a little cutie, aren't you?”

“Don't be nice to it. It won't leave you alone if you are.” Jared warned with a finger directed at him. He glanced around and saw a kid crawl out from under the house where the tapir had come from. “Hey kiddo. Is this trunk rodent yours?”

Keenan almost sputtered at the way the redhead referred to the tapir. He would have burst out laughing but was worried about startling the timid creature still making happy noises against his palm. He gave plenty of scratches around the neck and under the chin till the tapir tapped out and flopped on their side like a dog. He cooed again at the cuteness of the situation and looked up to join the conversation.

The small villager who crawled out from under the house looked around ten years old, with dark curly hair that was barely held from her eyes by the bright band tying in up in a ponytail. Her dark skin was contrasted brightly by her eyes. They were so blue and vivid. She brushed off her tie dyed sundress and gave a bright smile and nodded. She was practically skipping, hands playing with her seashell necklace as she approached the two men. “Yes, her name is Kulbera.”

“Kulbera.” Keenan repeated, looking up from his petting to beam at the girl. “She's so gentle and soft. I like her. Is she your pet?” He cooed down at the tapir who had glanced up with milky eyes as the sound of her name.

“She belongs to no one and everyone. We take care of her and she does the same.” The girl answered, coming closer to the two men. She looked up at Jared for a long moment before her grin grew wider. She looked almost overjoyed to see him and the feeling seemed to be mutual if the look on his face was anything to go by. “You came back again.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” He gave the top of her messy hair a little ruffle and got a playful squawk in return. “Someones gotta keep you brats out of trouble.”

The girl dramatically mourned her hair with pats to the top of her head. The curls of her bangs now all over the place and her bright eyes became next to impossible to see, even more so when he undid the hair tie and started to shake her head back and forth like a wet dog.

Keenan watched the whole display with an expression of amusement, his brow raising as he noted something peeking against dark skin. As her hands were raised up to tie her hair, he saw two black tattoos in the shape of long check marks just below her ear. She had her tongue out and was rotating while twisting the pony tail up into a loose bun and Keenan caught sight of two more on the other side of her neck. They were exact replicas of the first two dashes he spotted.

He didn’t see anymore on her arms or shoulder but perhaps the tattoos were a cultural thing and she wasn’t old enough to get the extensive ones that Jared and Tanner seemed to have. Keenan would have to ask Jared sometime. It looked really interesting and he’d love to understand the meaning behind them.

Once the girl had her hair tied back up, she stuck her tongue out at Jared and ducked under his arm as he made a show of trying to mess with her hair again. She laughed and danced around him till eventually he gave up and huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re too slow. You’ll never catch anything at that rate.”

“Oh I have.. Sometimes you just gotta let them come to you.”

That statement didn’t fall on deaf ears and Keenan turned red at the insinuation. He looked over and just as he suspected, Jared was looking back at him with a heated gaze. It was scolding hot and he had to look away again, the breath expelling from his lungs in a long nervous hiss. That man really knew how to get him going and honestly, he was going to be the death of him if he continued on like this.

“That’s just your way of saying your too slow.” The girl either didn’t understand what he had meant or didn’t care. Either way, she wore a victorious grin as she backed up and waggled her fingers at him. She turned to face Keenan and leaned forward, drumming on her knees and making clicking noises with her tongue. “Come on Kulbera. Come here girl.”

The tapir glanced over her shoulder and at the sight of the familiar girl calling out to her, she slowly got back up onto her haunches and kicked up more sand in a happy gesture. Kulbera did a full spin and made an excited noise, running to the young villager. The tapir’s form of galloping was more like an unsteady waddle and she couldn't stop her stride in time, bowling the two of them over.

“Kulbera!” The girl giggled and laid there petting the tapir, unbothered by the fact that she had been knocked over. She was scratching along her back when she heard a voice calling out in the distance. Looking up, she cupped her mouth in her hands and yelled back. “Coming mama.”

She got up and stared at Keenan again, looking as if she were seeing him really for the first time. She looked between him and Jared before something clicked and a grin curled on her face. At Keenan’s nervous gaze, she reached forward and took one of his hands in both of hers. He was confused and was going to say something but the little girl didn’t give him the chance. She stood on her tiptoes to be as tall as Keenan. Despite him crouched over he was still tall and he had to tilt his head down further so the girl could reach up and cup a hand to his ear. After a few seconds of whispering, she backed up again and gave Jared an impish grin.

“What are you saying over there brat? Am I going to have to tell your mother that you’re being bad again?” Jared accused, a hand raised in a threatening manner but from his smile, it was obvious he had no plans on following through with his threat. He was just a cat raising his hackles to appear bigger than he actually was.

“Nothing….” She clasped her hands behind her back and twisted her body left and right. The dress twirled with the movement and she beamed up at Keena one last time. “Thank you for taking care of Kulbera for me.”

He smiled back, raising a hand to scratch at the back of his scalp. “It was no problem at all. I enjoyed getting the chance to see a tapir so close. So thank you.”

The little girl patted at her knees again. “Come on Kulbera!” She ran off and the tapir followed her down the end of the single street. 

There was a woman standing there with a basket under her arm, watching as her daughter was approaching. She was tall and thin with dark braided hair that reached all the way to her knees and a light blue dress that flowed around her like foam on the sea. Once her daughter was at her side, she rested a hand on her cheek and gave her a little kiss to the forehead. They spoke briefly and both looked over to give them a final wave before returning to their day to day business.

Keenan waved back with both hands over his head before he caught sight of Jared next to him. The redhead was offering him a hand with a curl of his lips, looking quite amused about the situation that had just taken place. He allowed himself to be helped back onto his feet and once standing, he brushed off the dirty footprints that had been left on his shorts from the tapir. “That was so cute. I’ve never seen a tapir in the wild before. I’ve read about them and seen them on tv but that's nothing in comparison to the real thing.”

“Yeah, they are stupid things. Digging up roots, leaving holes everywhere and running into trees.” Jared brushed his bangs out of his eyes as he spoke, shaking his head as he thought more on the subject. He offered an arm like a gentleman escorting a woman to her door and once Keenan took it, he started to walk down the street. They passed by some people in the middle of distributing fruit to a crowd of young children and had to take slow steps so they didn’t get tripped up by kids weaving in and out between them. “On another note, what did Marl’a say?”

“Was that her name?” Keenan asked, leaning into their joined arms.

Jared nodded simply and said nothing, even as Keenan raised his hand up and opened his fist to reveal what she had hidden in his hand. He seemed to be waiting for some sort of explanation.

“Whisper whisper whisper.” Keenan stared down at the small snail shell. It was tiny and glossy, like it had been worn to a perfect shine by the waves. The entire shell had little brown speckles all over it. Keenan looked up with a smile and received a look of disbelief in turn. “No really! That’s what she said! I think she was just trying to get on your nerves.”

Jared kept staring at the shell until Keenan shoved it back into his pocket. The affixed expression on his face disappears the moment it was out of view and he cleared his throat, nodding curtly. “Right, that’s probably what it was… little brat.”

Keenan laughed at how frustrated the redhead looked at being teased by a little girl. It was a happy, hearty laugh that even had Jared chuckling along after a few seconds. Keenan sighed afterwards and adjusted his sunglasses, feeling the sweat gathering on his brow from the heat. “That was a fun experience though. I mean, how many people get to say they got to pet a tapir? I know, it sounds like a weird accomplishment but.. I’ve always been drawn to nature.”

Jared gave a distracted wave to a villager as they passed by, interested in the conversation at hand. “Well, you’ve picked the right place to vacation then. We have wildlife aplenty here. Although, I’ll be honest. I have never seen a tapir that big before. Might be an old god.” He laughed and shrugged casually.

“Tapir are worshipped on this island?” Keenan inquired, patting a kid on the head as they stopped directly in front of him. They babbled something in their native tongue and held up a pinkish fruit towards him. While he didn’t understand what he was saying, he understood the context and shook his head, pointing to the fruit and then the kid. “No thank you. You enjoy it.”

The kid didn’t need much prompting and made a loud happy squeal, shoving the whole slice of grapefruit into his mouth before making a facial expression at the sourness. They then ran off as three other kids gave chase with handfuls of fruits in their hands.

“Well, anything that lives for a long period of time is seen as something worth worshipping. Birds, fish, anything that is frequently seen hanging around. That tree’s been around for awhile. Could be a god.” He indicated to a gnarled tree that was providing shade for several stalls before he shrugged. “Or it could just be old. The ideals of gods and the like are subjective. Some people are more intrigued by the concept than others.”

He would have continued on but was distracted as another youngster was marching overdramatically next to Jared, imitating him. He had made a show of furrowing his brows and curled his lips in a deep frown, cheeks red as he puffed them out. His hands waved back and forth at his sides as he paraded next to Jared till he took notice of him. 

“I don’t look like that!” Jared made a shooing gesture with his free hand at the boy who ran up ahead so he could start walking backwards right in front of them. He noticed the amused expression on Keenan’s face and that egged him on to continue mocking the redhead. The boy crossed his arms over his chest as Jared did and as he yelled, the boy responded back in his mother tongue. “I don’t care. Keep that up and I’ll toss you into the kelp forest!” 

The kid scattered at Jared’s playful seething glare and with a laugh, ran back to join up with the rest of his friends. They all chittered back and forth like parrots, bundling up close to each other to pass different pieces of fruit to each other.

“Damn brats.. They’re like gremlins, adorable ones, but gremlins nonetheless.”

Keenan looked at Jared with a soft smile, amused as ever at the other man. He couldn’t understand how someone who gave off an aura of crankiness secretly had a heart of gold. Despite his grumbling and hunched over stance, he was willing to stand up for the people that couldn’t. Keenan was surprised when he finally cracked that icy demeanor of his and found an individual who was as warm as the fire he spun. “And what about you?”

“Me?” The man looked almost taken aback by the question before he composed himself. “You calling me a gremlin?” 

“No. What I asked earlier.” Keenan smiled and rolled his eyes in a playful gesture. “Although that’s still up for debate.”

Jared made a disgruntled noise as he averted his gaze. He looked like he was trying to figure out what Keenan had asked him before his eyes lit up in recognition. He looked down at their locked arms and hummed in thought. “Are you asking me if I believe in tapir gods?”

“Any gods really. I'm just curious about the reasoning for the tattoos.” Keenan realized that may have been a rude question to ask and attempted to backpedal, clearing his throat with an anxious expression. “Of course I'm not saying that all tattoos have to have meanings. I’ve just been wondering..”

“That would explain the staring..” Jared playfully jibed, looking absolutely like a cat who cornered the mouse. He held on tightly as Keenan tried to pull away with pink cheeks. Their elbows were still interlocked which made it easy for him to reel him back towards his side. “C’mon, you weren’t exactly being subtle about it. Hell, even Tanner noticed.”

“Well could you blame me? It’s hard not to notice when your walking around shirtless.” Keenan murmured under his breath before letting out a sigh. He closed his eyes to try to compose himself but the warmth of Jared next to him was rather distracting. He needed a change of subject before he let the feelings that had been gathering deep inside him, spill out unabashingly. “But on another more important note, how is Tanner? I was worried about the two of you when you left..” He was practically crossing his fingers, hoping the other would bite the bait and let him divert the topic with his not so subtle segue.

Jared whistled a little note before a wide grin spread across his lips. He rolled his eyes in amusement. “Your changing the subject.” He trailed off with a laugh and continued to hold onto Keenan as he tried to pull away again, weaker this time.

“Yes I am!” Keenan raised an accusing finger at him. He tried to maintain a seething gaze but it fell short at the grin he received in turn. “But only because I’m worried about your friend. You two left in a hurry after he started throwing up.”

“... you’re embarrassed!” Jared teased, shaking Keenan in his grip. His fingers drummed against his shoulder and he sounded fascinated that Keenan’s voice was getting higher pitched in indignation. He looked entertained at catching him in a desperate attempt at changing the subject. “That’s adorable.”

Keenan pulled his arm free from Jared’s so he could have some breathing room and crossed his arms over his chest in an unhappy display. He exhaled loudly and looked away with pink cheeks. “Yes ok. I admit it. I was trying to change the subject. I didn’t exactly want to talk about how I was gawking at your tattoos all night.” 

At the redhead’s intense gaze, he sputtered and continued in a much higher pitch. “I mean, I had no idea how extensive they were. My mind has a tendency to wander and they completely cover your back and shoulders…”

“My feet too.” At that, Jared stopped walking to lift a foot up in front of them. His flip flops hung off his toes just barely as he rotated his ankle in a circle. True to his words, there were four lines of black dashes that curled around the heel like waves. The lines got thinned the further down the foot they went and the points arcing down to his toes, ending just above the knuckles. 

Keenan hadn’t even seen those ones before. He had noticed before that the man had been walking around barefoot but the ink tracing the skin there had gone completely unnoticed to him. Another interesting sight was the fact that Jared was actually wearing footwear now. “Why the flip flops?”

Jared shrugged casually as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. He rose one hand up in a ‘what gives’ gesture. “The aviary has a no shirt, no shoes, no service policy.”

Keenan raised an unconvinced brow at him. He refused to believe that the man would conform to someone else's rules without a reason why. Maybe it was just him but Jared did seem the stubborn type. He stared for a long second, letting the unasked question hang in the air between them.

“Ok! I’d rather not step in bird shit while in there.” Jared added quickly as an afterthought.   
And there it was, the real reason. 

Keenan laughed and at the look he received, waved a hand in a non commital gesture. “Nothing. I just... find the whole thing amusing.” He continued to chuckle as Jared’s face turned red in indignation.

“Have you seen the size of some of our tropical birds? The shit they produce are not a laughing matter.” Jared berated angrily. His brow was creased in frustration and his cheeks were red but the quirk of his lips gave away his amusement. He stopped walking and looked between two houses before making a waving gesture for Keenan to follow him. The sweet smell in the air appeared to be coming from the open doorway. “Oh, here we are.”

“I can tell. What is that?” Keenan pointed to the air and made a show in inhaling deeply to indicate his point. It was deliciously sweet, like some sort of freshly baked good with with a glaze. Maybe honey? “Whatever it is, it smells delicious.”

“Mmmm.. Smells like Baba is making something with plantain. Probably bread. Or bread pudding.” Jared had a feral look in his eyes like he was a starved man in the dessert and he took the two steps up onto the front porch, turning around to offer his hand to Keenan. He smiled and indicated to the door with an inclination of his head.

“Wait, you sure we can just walk right in?” He was glancing nervously at the front door and shuffled in spot. He didn’t see any signs of this being a restaurant or a place to eat. Could they really just go inside without an invitation? Slowly, he took the offered hand and allowed himself to be led up the first two steps. 

Jared pulled him close to his side and let an arm wrap around his shoulder. He was grinning lazily as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Of course. Let's just say we aren’t the only ones who like to drop in unannounced.” With that having been said, he pulled open the door and it swung open, allowing all the noises and smells from inside to come spilling out.

There was the sound of clinking glasses and wooden cutlery scooping into bowls. The sound came hand in hand with a warm wave of smells, sweet and tickling on the senses as they waffed out the door. It smelled like freshly baked bread and the sweet nectar from exotic fruits. The creaking of chairs on the floor was a contrast to quietness from just outside as seats were moved along the wooden floor. 

People conversing back and forth had gotten louder now that the door was open and Keenan got a good look inside the house, noting a few facing turning to see them come inside. The glances were more curious than anything and the minute they recognized them as customers, they turned back to their conversations. 

The entire front room of the house that looked like it would be big enough for a couch and tv had been converted into a dining area with several tables and chairs pushed together to form a tight knit gathering of people. None of the furniture matched and looked like it had been taken from all sorts of different locations. One of the chairs even looked like one he had seen in the hotel lobby but Keenan couldn’t be quite sure without a closer look.

He made a quick head count as they both stood in the doorway and could see at least twenty people in a space that should have only fit ten but they seemed to make it work. It didn’t look awkward or messy. In fact, every plate and bowl had their place around the room. It looked more like a family gathering around a nice home made meal and the food looked great in Keenan’s opinion. 

There were large bowls of rice pudding, hot and spiced being passed around and scooped into smaller portions being passed around. Once the bowl was empty, jokes were made at the last persons expense and they got up to bring the dirty dishes through a hallway covered by a beaded curtain. Someone was cutting a pie that looked like it had just come from the oven and Keenan almost swooned as once the man cut cleanly into it, the inside revealed the biggest chunks of apple that he had ever seen.

“Welcome to Baba Yaga’s.” Jared made a sweeping gesture to the inside of the room while his other hand lowered to Keenan’s waist to help guide him in through the doorway. At the questioning look he got, he lifted a finger to his lips and smirked. “Don’t tell her we call it that, though I suspect she already knows.”

The two of them slowly navigated the tightly packed room and passed by several people who seemed to recognize them. Surprisingly, a lot of them waved and gestured towards Keenan. He had expected Jared to be more recognized, him being a local and all, but he wasn’t going to complain. They laughed and raised drinks in toast and indicated towards the not existence space at their table for them to join in but Jared gave them a polite shake of his head at that. 

Keenan glanced around and after meeting several people gazes in his awkward search for an empty seat, he finally found a space against a back was with a small loveseat shoved into the corner. It had a smaller table in front of it but he was definitely not going to complain about the more intimate seating arrangement. He tugged his redheaded companion along until the got there.

“Nice. Here I was thinking we came at a bad time but then I remembered, there isn’t a time where this place isn’t packed.” Jared laughed at his own musings and watched Keenan get comfortable on the couch. Instead of joining him, he stayed on the other side of the table and placed his hands on the surface to lean forward on it. “I’m gonna let Baba know we’re here. What are you feeling like? You want lunch or are you okay with just skipping right to dessert?”

Keenan glanced back over at what was left of the apple pie on the other table and swallowed heavily, his stomach protesting the lack of food he was eating right now. “It doesn’t matter. I’m so hungry, if you take too long I’m liable to start chewing on the table.” 

“That hungry eh.. Alright I'll see what I can get that old hag to conjure up for us.” He drummed his fingers on the table once, glancing over at the beaded curtain before looking back at him. His gaze was soft as his eyes trailed down Keenan’s face till they landed on his lips. There was a pungent silence that passed over them for a second before Jared swallowed heavily and straightened back up into a stand. He didn’t say anything else to him despite the look in his eyes saying otherwise and Jared walked away, his back turning to hide the desire that Keenan had seen written across his face.

The redhead past the crowded room of people who joked and made playful gestures at him. He conversed with them politely but judging from the tense shoulders, he seemed more intent on getting past them and through the beaded curtain that covered the doorway leading into another room. After a few minutes of weaving in and out between chairs, Jared finally got to his destination and disappeared down the hall. The beads jingled as he passed through them and continued to sway long after he was gone.

Keenan sat there biting his lower lip and his eyes trailed from the beaded doorway to stare angrily at the wooden table. He wasn’t angry at Jared though. He was mad at himself. His nails picked at the wooden grain in a distracted notion as he sat back from the subtle lean he had been going for mere seconds ago. He thought from the look that Jared had been giving him, that he was going to kiss him. Keenan had been completely prepared to just pull him over the table, regardless of how anyone within the house would have reacted to it. He had seen how the man looked at his lips, the way his pupils had dilated and how his shouldered tensed. He thought..

“Fuck..” He removed his sunglasses and flopped forward, his forehead making contact with the table in a thud. That pain was nothing in comparison to the embarrassment that he felt at how desperate he felt from just a single look in his direction. Jared just had to glance his way and butterflies would be fluttering in his stomach, leaving him with the feeling of coughing up rose petals. He groaned into his crossed arms and tried to calm his racing thoughts. “Way to come off as desperate..”

He must look like the most lovestruck fool around, practically floating from a single kiss and reeling at the thought of more. And while he did get more, it was never enough. He kissed him again but he was so willing to do it again and again. It was an addicting thrill. The man was like everything he had wanted and everything he never knew he needed in his life wrapped up into one perfect redheaded package. 

A man Jared showing an interest in him? It never happened to people like him. He had spent his entire life daydreaming at the sight of others in their relationships. People fell in love and made the whole thing look so easy. But when he tried, things never worked out. No matter how little or too much he put into it. Being in a relationship was a perfect mixture of something that he just hadn’t figured out yet. Or at least that’s what he thought till he met Jared. 

Everything he thought he needed to say and do was no longer relevant since he spent most of his time too happy to even consider any of those stupid pick up lines Sam had insisted on him trying next time. The whole idea of being tongue tied and feeling like he was flying from a single kiss was no longer a rumour or a scene from a cheesy romance novel anymore. It was quite literally his life right now.

There was the sound of shifting beads and he heard Jared’s laugh resonate from across the room. Even with his eyes closed, he recognized the sound. It made his heart skip a beat and he tried to keep the quiver out of his breath as it got louder. He could hear Jared getting closer but he didn’t look up. He was still trying to compose himself, too scared that if he looked up now, his true feelings would be written on his face in permanent ink.

The steps stopped just in front of the table he was currently face down on and the floorboards creaked to alert him of another joining Jared. There was a thud of wood on wood like a cane being struck on the ground and Keenan flinched from behind his hand, the tent of his arms no longer feeling like a safe place to hide.

“So this is the boy you came with?” There was a sallow old voice that felt like glass in his lung and Keenan winced at the familiar pain of it. He lifted his head up slowly, taking a long time to glance up through his lashes. Standing in front of him, under the glow of the candle light was Jared, bright and beautiful. But next to him was someone that had his hands trembling and his breath escape him. 

Despite the heat, the room suddenly felt very cold. His blood was frozen in his veins and his heart beat heavily in his ears like he was completely submerged in water. The conversation in the background faded, every sound of clinking glasses and cutlery was overtaken by a numb whine that rang in his ears. The old crooked woman was looking right at him and he couldn’t look away. He could sense Jared moving from his peripheral vision but he couldn’t glance over at all. His body felt like ice, frozen and unmoving.

Jared’s smile fell immediately at his horrified expression and he reached forward, a palm curling along the curve of his throat to gently take hold of his shoulder. He gave Keenan a little shake but all he got was a little whimper in response. His warm palms were almost scolding hot as they cupped either side of his cheek and forced them to lock eyes. Jared’s touch was far too hot on his skin and sweat was forming at his brow. 

He could see Jared’s mouth moving to say something but no words came out. He couldn’t hear anything but his heartbeat growing louder in his head as he took deep shaky breaths. He was fighting to get enough air into his body but the room felt so small and too big. Why was he in the corner? He needed to be outside. Away from people, away from the gnashing teeth and away from her.

Keenan looked back at the haggard looking woman standing just behind Jared. There was no mistaking that yellow toothy grin. She was the one with the cold hands and the strong grip. The way she had grabbed him earlier and pulled, like she was trying to tear something out of his very being. Before it had made him dizzy and uneasy. But now, it was a strong sensation that rang in his ears and ate away at his thoughts.

He got up from his seat so fast that he banged his knees off the table in front of him but he felt none of it. He felt nothing. His gaze was glassy and his hands were shaking. He was so cold, why was he so cold? He stumbled against Jared’s body and fell into his arms, trembling like a frightened kitten.

“-s wrong? Keenan, please wha-” Jared’s voice continued to dorne in and out between a clear voice and garbled speech. It was getting harder and harder to associate words over the humming in the background that got louder and filled every sense slowly but surely. He could taste salt water on his tongue and smell the ocean brine in his sweat. The tinge of darkness ate at the corners of his vision and he choked as the low murmur picked up into a steady wail.

The woman took a step closer to him but her short figure was immediately hidden from view as Jared filled his vision completely. The man looked so worried, his eyes filled with horror at the sight of sweat on his brow and tremble in his hands. He enveloped Keenan in his arms and pulled him close, the warmth seeping through the endless cold that had sunk into his very heart. He was the only thing still grounding him and keeping him steady but even that anchor was slowly losing its grip on him. He was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss, the ground feeling like the surface of water just waiting to swallow him whole.

“Cold.. W-Why… am I so c-cold.” Keenan managed between trembling lips. He looked up to see Jared stroking his cheek, trying to look brave. There was something wrong with him. Why could no one see it? Could anyone else feel the weight pulling him downwards? Could Jared not hear the song ringing loud and true in his head, eating away at him? He reached up to touch him and the flinch he received from how cold his skin was, drove that self deprecating spike in deeper.

Keenan could hear the muffle of language being spoken but it was like the buzzing of power lines. The more he tried to focus, the worst the headache got. He swore he could hear the low vibrato of whale song around him but that would be impossible on land, wouldn’t it? His head turned away from Jared’s chest to look around for them and saw the old woman now kneeled next to him. She was holding something on a short leather cord. It was strange how everything else in his vision seemed to distort in waves as his gaze was drawn to the thing hanging in her bony clutch. Something silvery caught the light in all the wrong ways, looking so strange but so mesmerizing at the same time. He felt the bile rising in his throat but nothing came up. Everything felt so still, but he could feel Jared’s chest rising and falling against him. He was still curled against his warmth but the very air had become cold and was sucking out the oxygen from his lungs. And that pretty little silver stone was so hard to look away from.

The woman reached towards him with her other gnarled hand and Keenan shook out of his stupor. But it wasn’t for his sake he broke free from the gaze for. It was his worry for Jared that pushed him to fight whatever was affecting him. His head and his tongue felt too heavy to talk but he pushed on. He had to warn Jared. This woman was dangerous. He couldn’t let her hurt him. He tried to reach up and his hand trembled as it hovered before falling like a puppet with its strings cut. 

Jared caught it though and held it in one of his own. He kissed the back of it and pressed the cold palm to his own cheek, murmuring something that Keenan couldn’t make out. It must have been a question because he was watching him carefully, eyes darting around for any sights of a response. 

Keenan tried to form a coherent sentence but all he could manage was a few jerks of his head and a terrified glance at the woman who was getting closer and closer. She was creeping just out of his vision, trying to move closer without appearing to interrupt their interaction but the way her throat bobbed, it was like the very hum in the air was being produced by her and her alone.

Jared followed Keenan’s gaze and looked back and forth between him and the old woman. His expression went from worry to understanding and then finally settling on anger. That rage was directed at her and he made no qualms about being loud. He looked absolutely livid, words coming out of his mouth like hissing steam on cold water. The words he screamed made no sense but the volume was loud enough that it drowned out the singing. His anger burned brighter than the endless cold depths that was slowly losing its grip on him.

He pressed himself closer to that warmth, clinging to the front of Jared’s hoodie as he stood up. His legs trembled at the shift, unable to hold up his own weight and suddenly he was sideways as he was picked up and cradled by the redhead. Keenan barely managed a yelp at the movement and his face burned brightly at the new position he was in. He looked up as Jared continued to yell and draw the attention of the rest of the people within the house. 

They were all beginning to approach with upset expressions on their faces as well but not directed at the woman, they were all pointing and glaring at Jared like he had personally wronged them. Two men, that had been so kind to Kennan earlier were now glaring daggers at the red head. One of them had a fist raised but before he could do or say anything there was a bang.

The sound of Baba banging her cane on the ground cut into everything. Throughout the entire argument, all Kennan had been able to hear was rushing water and the deep humming of oceans giants. It had been so loud that he had to raise his hand from Jared’s grip to cover both ears. Now there was a silence that trailed on, the pressure in his head receding like the tide and his breath came back to him. He was gulping back mouthfuls of oxygen with trembling shoulders.

The woman brought her hand to rest on top of the cane and crossed her other on top of it. The sound of her fingers curling was sickening loud due to the silence that enveloped the home. No one spoke or moved, everyone hanging on the woman's words as she let out a contemplative hum. Her face curled into a crooked smirk, yellow teeth flashing and eyes hidden behind the crease of her brows.

“Respect is a two way street. It must be mutual. You know the laws of this land better than anyone.” She paused dramatically, a hand raising to stroke under her cheek as if deep in though. Before she continued, she was met with a scoff.

Jared tightened his grip on Keenan and sneered at Baba. He was slowly stepping around the table but didn’t break his gaze from the old lady as he did so. “Respect? Please.. You all barely tolerate me and that’s on the best of days.”

“We’ve always treated you as one of our own. Our family. Our kin!” One of the men in the background shouted.

Another pointed at Jared with tension in his shoulders and anger on his face. “You have turned your back on so many before, why is this one different?!”

A woman elbows the man speaking to get his attention and murmured to him with a sour look on her face. “This one he wants to fuck.”

“What gives you the right?!” Jared yelled back. He shimmied to get in front of Baba and glanced over at the door. He tightened his grip on Keenan and tried to grin down at him despite the fear in his eyes.

Keenan watched as the older woman slammed her cane on the ground again the people around her went quiet. She was obviously the one in charge of everything as everyone obeyed her without question. After a moment of contemplative silence she gave a wave towards the door. The rest of the crowd didn’t seem to like what that gesture meant judging from the expression on their faces but they still said nothing as she spoke up.

“Go then. Take him from this place, from this village, even from this very island. But you can’t change the results. You say that I planted the seeds but the truth is, it was always there. I simply called it to the surface.” At Jared’s grunt, she laughed high pitched and insane. Her hands stretching to her sides in a wides gesture. “Go ahead, ask the boy. Ask him why he really fears the depths.”

There was a long pause and Keenan looked up to see him staring back down at him. They stayed like that for a few seconds before the redhead’s expression settled into one of determination. He shook his head at Baba. “No.”

She didn’t seem very bothered by that response and just shrugged. “You know I’m right.”

“Fuck you.You have no right to interfere even if it is true.”

Her smile only grew more and more as Jared yelled till the lines of her lips were cut obscenely high. Her fingers drummed along the top of her staff. “But my dear, isn’t that what your doing right now hm? Interfering.”

Jared didn’t say anything for the longest time and Keenan was getting more and more nervous as time progressed. He was confused about the situation going on around him and was worried about the fact that his limbs won’t listen to him no matter how hard he tried to get them to move. He was practically in tears because the most he could do was rotate his head and wiggle his toes. If Jared decided to leave like the old lady wanted him to, then he would have no way to defend himself.

“Fuck you, I’m taking him with me.” Keenan looked up at that defiant claim and saw the sneer on Jared’s face. He could almost kiss the man right then and there for that. While he still had no idea about what Baba had been talking about, he was happy that he wouldn’t just be abandoned and left to find out for himself first hand.

One of the men glanced at the elderly woman and leaned over her shoulder to speak. She raised a placating hand and shook her head. Her head turned to face Keenan again and he could feel those eyes burning into him despite not being able to see them. “Let them leave.”

Without waiting another heartbeat, Jared was passing by empty table and knocked over chairs till he got to the door. The bright light from outside was such a beautiful sight as he was carried across the threshold and out into the village again. Jared was murmuring under his breath as he took the steps two at a time and started to glance around as if looking for something.

“W-what happened..” Keenan managed out, his voice drowsy. He was exhausted like he hadn’t slept in days.

Jared stilled at that and looked down at him in his arms with a truly terrified glimmer in his eyes. He opened his mouth several times to speak but closed it again before any words could come out. This continued for a few more times before Jared settled for a small sigh and a shake of his head. “Not here. I’d rather be as far away from here right now as I can possibly be.”

“B..but. I wanna.. Know..” 

The redhead exhaled out his nose and looked back and forth before kneeling with Keenan in hand under the shade of a nearby home. He loosened the hand from under his knees to cup at Keenan’s cheek so they were looking eye to eye. “I really wish I was as good at this as Tanner.”

Before Keenan could ask what that meant, he felt the question die in his throat as his chin was lifted and a pair of lips met his forehead. They were hot against his cool skin and he turned pink at the gentle gesture. His fingers lifted to curl up in Jared’s hoodie.

Jared’s face pulled back to look back at him and he caught sight of his eyes. Fully green. The brightest he had ever seen them. They almost appeared to glow. His lips parted and a low hum fell from them, a strange echoing undertone flowing with them. “You need to go to sleep now.” Jared murmured against his lips and he felt helpless against them.

His body was already beyond exhausted. He had simply needed that extra push to have him nodding off. Keenan curled forward in a slumped state and slowly his vision blacked out. What should have been a worrying sensation, instead left him feeling safe and secure. He knew that Jared had him and wouldn’t let anything happen to him while he slept, so who not rest for a few minutes? His body was in agreement with his mind and he fell asleep in the man’s arms. 

***


	5. Restraint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As much as Keenan didn’t want to admit out loud, he still needed him. He didn’t just want anymore. When they were kissing, it had been just a want. When they were holding each other and whispering the dirty things they wanted to do to each other, it was just a want. 
> 
> But under the starry sky and surrounded by fireflies, now it was a need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, forgot to tell you that I packed a drama llama into this story so things are gonna get complicated ;)

When he opened his eyes again, he was staring up at a ceiling he didn’t recognize. He was obviously inside of a home but it wasn’t his and from the lack of sounds, he wasn’t in a village. A shape came into view and he faintly recognized it, staring with glossy eyes until the blurry figure finally focused. 

Standing above him, looking down with a worried gaze was Tanner. Keenan was still in a daze, his limbs feeling heavy like he was moving them in water. He could hear him talking and tried to focus on it, his eyes watching Tanner’s lips move. He recognized what he was saying, it was so familiar to him. Tanner would pause and then repeat it again and the form his lips took looked so familiar. It tickled the back of his head.

One word but two syllables. It took far longer to recognize his name than he’d like to admit but slowly sound came back to him. The sponge in his head finally absorbed the voices and sounds around him, first his name and then music. There was a radio or a tv playing faintly in the background, something with a calming beat that filled the room with a soothing atmosphere.

“What happened?” Keenan asked but the words came out more like a croak. His voice was cracked from his yelling earlier and his throat felt like the desert. He didn’t have to make any indications to needing water because Jared was already at his side from out of nowhere with a glass and a twirly straw sticking out of it. The straw had ‘beers are for straight boys’ written from one end to the other.

Keenan gave him a look but Jared must have known what he was going on in his head because a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. “We’re at Tanner’s place.” He offered as if that was an explanation for the statement written on the straw. Once Keenan had several sips from the drink, he lowered the glass back to the table and sat down next to the bed he was laid out on. He was watching him with an unreadable expression.

“How long have I been out?” Keenan squinted and his eyes felt like sandpaper. He was starting to regret the contacts he was wearing. From the feel of things, he needed to remove them right away.

“A couple of hours. Jared carried you here on his back.” Tanner offered that answer, earning a dark look from his friend. He just grinned at that and continued, more determined to embarrass him now than ever before. “He nearly broke down my front down and then proceeded to practically pace a hole through my floor while we waited for you to wake up. He was crying that he had gotten someone murdered on his first date like boo hoo hoo- ghugk!”

His mock crying was cut off as Jared had practically leapt over and pulled him into a one armed choke hold, trying to yell over Tanner as he continued to talk about how much of a nervous wreck the man had been about Keenan being unconscious. “Shut up, he has no idea what he’s talking about. Ignore him!”

Keenan watched them argue back and forth with a tired but amused gaze. His lips curled up at the sight of Tanner being lifted off the ground completely only to be dropped a second later after biting down on Jared’s palm. They continued to run circles around the room until Tanner ducked under his friends arms and disappeared out the bedroom door with a laugh.

“You son of a bitch. Come back here.” Jared shook his hand back and forth, glaring daggers at the teeth marks that were dented into his palm.

Tanner called back from the hallway. “No, talk to your boyfriend. I’m going to get a snack.”

“He’s not my-” Jared trailed off, his eyes darting up to see Keenan looking right at him. As soon as their eyes met, he scoffed and diverted his attention towards the radio. He murmured angrily under his breath and approached him, not meeting his eyes as he did so. Once he was seated, he threaded his fingers together and rested them on his lap. “How are you holding up?”

Keenan was blinking sleepily and after a second of contemplating, lifted his hand up and gave a weak thumbs up. He could barely hold in the yawn that threatened to tumblr from his lips. “I think I’m feeling better.. I’m still so tired.”

“That will wear off.” Jared reached beside him and took the glass off the table. He offered it to Keenan and jiggled it in his hand slightly to catch his attention to it. It took much longer to get him to focus from his exhausted daze. “Here, drink some more. You need to hydrate.”

Keenan took it between both hands but didn’t take a sip. Instead he settled the glass on his lap and stared into it unseeingly. His wore a distant look on his face like the gears in his head were only just starting to click into place and he peeked over at Jared with a frown. “Let me guess, your going to tell me that I got ‘heat stroke’ as well.”

“Do you really think that lowly of me that you’d assume I’d lie?” Jared leveled a neutral gaze at him, his lips in a pursed line. His arms crossed over his chest and he rose a brow in indication for Keenan to continue.

“Well what else am I supposed to think? This is the second time that woman has practically assaulted me and this time she didn’t even have to touch me to… to have… to have..” Keenan trailed off, face going pale as a sour taste filled his mouth. There was a bubbling in his stomach that had him pressing his palm over his lips. 

Jared was up and at his side in an instance. His hand gently caressed his back to sooth down his spine in a comforting gesture. “Keenan? What’s..”

“I’m going… throw up.” Keenan spat out, the sourness raising in his throat and he stumbled from under the cover to get off the bed as fast as he could. His limbs were not co-operating though and he fumbled, almost falling to his knees as he landed on the ground. There was a sting as his palms made contact with the wooden floor beneath him. His gaze was wild as he looked around for something, anything to throw up into. He was tired and ill but a part of him had the common courtesy to not want to puke all over the floor or bed.

“Here, use this!” Jared grabbed a garbage bin and brought it over to him as he heaved and wheezed on all fours. He managed to get it between Keenan’s trembling hands and had to look away at the sight of him doubling over to bring up whatever was in his stomach, which wasn’t very much to begin with. He continued to pat his back for several more seconds before he decided to clean up the bed, collecting the spilled glass. “I’m going to get you a drink. You sure as hell are going to need it after this.”

Keenan didn’t even acknowledge him as he left, too busy trying to calm his heaving nerves. He was a sobbing mess, shoulders shaking and throat stinging from the bile that came up. His sight was blurry and he could barely see a thing through his tears as he choked up endless amounts of fluids. There was no way that he had drank that much water during the day but the salty brine continued to come up in streams till he was exhausted and barely able to hold himself upright.

He hiccuped after he was sure there was no more to bring up and stayed in that hunched over stance, arms wound around the garbage bin like he was holding onto a lifeline. There was sweat on his brow and his heartbeat was heavy in his ears, thudding so loud it was hard for him to focus on anything else. Keenan remained on all fours, face tilted down and bangs in his eyes as the tears streamed down his cheeks. He only glanced up once he rubbed his forearm across his streaked face to clear his vision if by a little. The sight in the full body mirror reflected at him was not very flattering at all. 

His skin was pale and glossy in sweat and tears, the only part of him that really had any colour was the sunburn slowly creeping up on his forehead and nose. That and his puffy tear stained eyes. They were red and irritated from how long he had been wearing his contacts. His fingers trembled as he reached into his back pocket and sought out his contact case. 

He unscrewed one lid and almost spilled the liquid inside all over himself from how hard he was shaking. It wasn’t exactly the quickest removal but one by one he gently slide them out and eased them into the case before replace it back into his pocket. He wiped his fingers that were damp from the saline solution on his shorts. The effect of having them out was an instantaneous relief and he no longer felt like his eyes were covered in sandpaper. Although having them out meant that he would have to squint to focus on anything for the rest of the day. But he trusted that Jared would be able to get him back to his hotel. Although, that trust was slowly diminishing the longer he went without answers.

“And now we wait..” A muffled voice came through the closed door that Jared had just walked out of and Keenan looked over in a curious gesture. It was Tanner from the sounds of things but he didn’t sound like he was joking or taking the piss out of his friend. No, his tone this time was serious and a bit low. Almost like he didn’t want his voice to carry.

Jared’s voice followed up and sounded just as low. He made a disgruntled noise followed by the sound of ice cubes tinkling into a glass. “No, we don’t. We fix this. Baba had no right doing what she did.”

It was obviously a private conversation and without context Keenan wasn’t sure he’d understand half of what they were saying but he was pretty sure from the sound of things that they were talking about him. He didn’t want to assume but he was pretty sure that judging from Jared’s words, that old lady did something to him. Keenan got up and winched as his knees protested the movement but he eventually got to his feet and walked to the door, garbage pail in hand. 

He didn’t want to come off as nosey but… Keenan took a deep breath. Who was he trying to fool? He didn’t care if he was caught listening in. He needed answers and from the way the two spoke, they must have some idea of what’s going on.

“Fix this?” Tanner’s voice rose in an indignant laugh before he lowered it again. There was a pause and the sound of footsteps shuffling around. A few seconds later he spoke up again, this time his voice was more faint like he was further away. “Jared, you act like this is a bad thing. Like this is the worst possible outcome.”

“Don’t say it.”

Tanner scoffed. “Don’t say what? The truth? Cause you know I’m right. Look, weren’t you the one who came to me torn over the fact that he’d be leaving at the end of the month?”

A slam resounded followed by Jared yelling. “Enough!” His voice was loud but it sounded shaky at the same time, full of anger or sadness. Something that Keenan couldn’t quite place without having a visual to go on. “Look, just… go. I’ll take care of it myself if you won’t help me.”

“And pray tell, how are you going to do that? You know what something like this happening means..” Tanner paused and let out a long exaggerated sigh. “Fine, whatever. I’ll help you play hero. But don’t come crying to me when you realize I’m right again.”

There was a long silence that hung overhead and footsteps started to pick up, growing louder as they came closer to the bedroom he was in. Keenan jolted out of his hunched over state and stopped pressing his ear to the door. He did a full rotation as he quickly looked around to find some place to be that would make him look less suspicious, like he hadn’t been snooping in on their conversation but he found none. Seeing nothing that could provide him with a good alibi, he decided to bite the bullet and puffed out his cheek, hand grabbing the handle before he could double guess his choice.

Keenan pushed it open without hesitation and felt it make contact with something on the other side. He let out a startled noise to play up the fact that he hadn’t been aware of someone approaching and immediately felt bad at the sight of Jared standing there soaked in a pink liquid. It was running down the front of him and dripping into a messy puddle at his feet. “Shit, I’m sorry.. I didn’t.”

“It’s fine.” Jared cut in with a hand raised, he brought it up to his mouth and licked an errant droplet of his wrist, trying to look undisturbed despite having the drink he had been carrying spilled down his hoodie. “I’ll grab you another one.”

Keenan swallowed heavily at the sight of him and his expression turned sour at the taste in his mouth. He reached forward to take the glass from him. “Honestly, I just need anything right now.” The glass had very little at the bottom but that one mouthful was enough to override the acidic flavour on his tongue.

“Bad taste?” Jared inquired, already stepping backwards to make his way down the hallway. He made sure not to step in the mess left behind and tilted his head in the direction he was going, indicating for Keenan to follow him. 

“Yeah.” He made another face as he joined Jared. They walked down the hall, past several canvas’ of printed photographs. Many of the pictures looked like they had come from an urban setting with tall skyscrapers and man made bridges. An islander with a fixation for mainland culture? That was intriguing. They entered a kitchen with a wooden island in the centre that housed a cluttered stack of magazines and camera equipment. Tanner was sitting there on a stool with his back to them, flipping lazily through one of the books. “Good lemonade though. Very sweet.” 

“I made it myself.” Tanner responded but didn’t look up. He had his chin resting in his palm as he quickly flipped from one end of the magazine to the other. Tanner’s tone only proved that he hadn’t actually been reading and that what he was doing was more of a gesture of boredom than anything else. “Your welcome to more if you want. From the sounds of it, most of it ended up on you anyways.”

Jared walked over and walked into his friend's line of sight, giving him a narrow eyed glance. He huffed to himself as he began shaking his hands at his sides. “Yeah no… None of it ended up on him at all.”

Tanner rotated in his stool to peek over at Keenan. He gave him a once over, a subdued smile on his lips. “Oh, I can see that now.” He pushed the magazine away from him with the tips of his fingers and leaned back to give him an amused look. His gaze diverted to Jare. “Do you mind not dripping on the floor?”

“Fuck you, get me a towel you prick.” Jared snarled, still shaking his hands at his sides to force more of the lemonade off of him and onto the floor. He shook himself like a wet dog with the kind of spite of a child being told that they can’t touch something. His grin turned sharp as if daring Tanner to complain more.

Instead the man let out a long exasperated sigh and got up from his stool like grabbing a towel was the most stressful thing ever. He passed by Keenan on the way to the linen closet and gave him a little wink before turning his attention back to the task at hand. He grabbed a green towel and held it in his hands, his back turned towards the other two.

Keenan may not have known the man very long but he knew a devious display when he saw one. Despite Tanner hiding his hands from view, he could see the way his shoulders move as he was going through the motions of tightening it into a whip like state. He looked over at Jared and tried to portray a look a warning in his direction but it was far too late. 

Tanner hid the curled up towel behind his back as he approached his redheaded friends and just as Jared was quirking a brow in suspicion, he lifted it and brought it down on his chest with a loud ‘thwap’.

“Ah you son of a bitch.” Jared put an arm up to defend himself as Tanner continued to strike him with the end of the towel again and again until he caught it in his palm. His teeth gritted and he pulled to try and tear it from his friends grip. “Give me the towel.”

“I am!” Tanner continued to cackle madly as he put his entire weight into the tug of war, leaning back to ensure that he was dead weight on his side. 

Jared had a look in his eyes as he was contemplating letting go but his blatant stubbornness refused to allow him to give in. “That’s not what I mean and you know it!”

Keenan watched the two of them snarl and argue with each other like a pair of kittens, play fighting in the middle of the kitchen. The whole sight was amusing and he walked over to sit on the stood when the floor felt like it shifted. His foot stumbled once to catch himself and he lifted a hand to his brow. His balance still felt off somewhat. Keenan managed to get to the island in the middle of the kitchen but his stomach was making angry noises as the bile built up again. 

He glanced around and found an empty plastic bin on the table. It looked like it would have housed recycling but right now it was empty and that was all he needed. He pulled it onto his lap and just in time too as the sour feeling rose in his throat again. His shoulders trembled and he bent over the container, bringing up very little but still heaving as his body was trying to force out something that wasn’t there.

“Fuck he’s at it again.” Tanner’s voice came from his side and there was the sound of a fridge opening and closing. After that, he could hear liquid being poured into a glass and looking up through watery eyes, Keenan saw another tall glass of pink lemonade offered to him. “Here, make sure you drink all of it.”

“C-can’t..” He managed to stumble out before a sickly gurgle noise croaked from his throat as his body was still going through spasms. No amount of breathing was calming his nerves or making his stomach cease.

Tanner rested a gentle hand on his shoulder and he was surprised at how cool it was. The palm soothed over his heated skin and seeped through his sweat soaked shirt. It had a calming effect on him and he leaned into it. He heard the man hum under his breath, slow and steady. At first it sounded like he was just making noise but very quickly he realized that Tanner was humming a little tune. It was low but matched his tone perfectly as his voice dipped into a soothing murmur.

“You can and you will. Drink it all and you’ll feel better.” Tanner’s words left no room for argument. Keenan ignored the angry quake of his stomach and took the glass in his hand. It was cold to the touch and the outside of it was dripping from condensation. He slowly brought it up to his lips and despite the fear of throwing back up again, he drank.

Keenan continued to drink like a dehydrated man in the desert and lifted the glass higher and higher with every swallow till there was nothing left inside. He lowered it after a long pause and let out a long sigh, sated and tired. He was still woozy but true to Tanner’s words, the spasms of his shoulders and stomach had immediately calmed down. The glass was taken from his hand and something cold was pressed to his brow. He looked to his right to see Jared holding a cold wash cloth and was wiping his brow and neck. 

“I need to get him something to eat. Can you keep an eye on him?” At Tanner’s glance, Jared continued and rubbed at the back of his neck with a sheepish frown. “He hasn’t eaten all day.”

Tanner nodded and brought his cool palm up Keenan’s neck, cupping his cheek to ease his head towards him. Their eyes met and hazel became fixated on yellow ones. They were so familiar and calming, despite how unnatural they looked. “Calm down. Let your body relax. Deep breaths.”

Keenan followed the instructions perfectly and was leaning into the hand, feeling lax and calm. It would have felt unnatural had he not been in such a sickly state. He was beyond exhausted and just need to take deep breaths and relax.

“Help me carry him back to bed.” Jared nodded at his friends words and tossed the washcloth into the sink. He scooped up Keenan’s limp body as easily as he had done so before and carried him down the hall right behind Tanner. The man shifted the covers and propped the pillow before the two gently tucked him back into the bed. “Go, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Keenan was faintly aware of the happenings around him but everything was so blurry and unfocused. His arms were heavy and his body had practically melted into the blankets, getting comfortable despite the hundreds of questions racing in his mind. He murmured under his breath and a cool hand rested like a cold compress on his brow.

“Shh, just relax. You need to sleep.”

Maybe Tanner was right. Maybe he did need sleep. His head was lulling to the side and he barely managed a confused noise as Tanner adjusted him on the pillow properly. Despite how hot it was outside, the room and sheets felt cool on his skin. Keenan’s body was limp and so lax, his blurry vision unable to focus on the man moving around like a busy bee in front of him. There was the feel of a cloth dabbing at his brow to wipe away the sweat gathered there and he followed the arm moving in front of his face with a half lidded gaze.

“Keenan.” Tanner’s voice was more silky this time. It was a low sensual tone that tickled along his sense. . “Sleep now.”

A thumb stroked over his barely parted lips and the last thing Keenan saw before the darkness of slumber took hold of him were two pupiless gold eyes staring down at him. They burned into his mind even as he fell asleep, the two glowing orbs feeling so reminiscent. So familiar. Almost like he had seen them before.

***

“Don’t run too far ahead, okay?” A ten year Keenan beamed back at his mother’s words, his smile showing a gap where his tooth fell out. He giggled and continued to dodge and weave between the crowd for a few more feet before he stopped dead in his tracks. 

“But mom. We’re going to miss out on the migration.” He rocked back and forth on his heels, pointing in the direction of the boat where everyone was gathering. Keenan felt her hand gently graze his shoulder and she helped guide him so he would keep moving along instead of standing in the middle of the deck where people were walking.

She brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and gave him a patient smile. “Yes, but we have to wait for your father first.” She looked like she wanted to say more when a woman approached her with a smile. “Oh my goodness, Vanessa. Is that you?”

“It is. My, what a small world we live in. How have you been?”

Keenan stood watching the two women talk back and forth for all of a minute before he got bored. His patience was short and his attention was immediately drawn away from them, towards the back the ship. No one was standing there anymore because the migration was taking place at the front but he saw a burst of white foam shoot up into the air indicating that there were more whales elsewhere.

He looked back to his mother who was deep in conversation before taking a quick peek around for his father. He didn’t see him at all and impatience set into his ten year old mind. His mother was so distracted, he could practically wander off and come back before she even noticed. In fact, Keenan decided he was going to do that. 

A little devious grin appeared as he slowly took step after step away from his mom. He took them slow as to not draw attention to himself till he got far enough away that he was out of line of sight. Keenan had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep in the noise of excitement at the prospect of getting away without being caught. He ran towards the edge of the boat where he had seen the exhale of foaming water and grabbed the railing once he got there.

His hands were levelled just about eye height so he could barely see a thing between the space of the wall and the railing. Keenan puffed his cheeks out in irritation and he glanced around to try and find a solution. He needed something that he could stand on. 

There was a nearby lounge chair that could probably take his weight if he stood on it the right way. It would be haphazardous but he was sure that he could manage it. Keenan pushed it across the deck, flinching at the screech of wood on wood. He pushed it up against the railing and looked over to see his mother, head tilted back and laughing at something her friend said. He still had time.

Keenan climbed on top of the chair and spaced his weight out on it so he wouldn’t sink into it as he leaned forward to look over the side of the ship. He had a much better view now and could see the crashing of dark blue waves below. It was quite far down and the white cresting of the water made it nearly impossible to see through the surface. He watched and waited for a long time, hoping to catch sight of the large beasts swimming up for air but after an eternity, his attention span was straining again.

He started to lower himself down from his tip toes when he heard that familiar moan from down below. His eyes went wide and he leaned as far as he could to try and catch sight of the whale that was singing. Just as he saw the dark form passing by the length of the cruise ship, multiple things happened at once.

The chair he was standing on strained from the awkward weight on it and creaked, trembling on two legs before falling over. Keenan yelped and grasped the railing with both hands but the slickness of it was almost like he was touching ice, his palms slipping right off them. There was the sound of something breaking the surface at the front of the boat and the sound of the people cheering completely drowned out of the weak cry that Keenan made as he tumbled headfirst over the side.

There were several seconds before he hit the surface and Keenan felt terror grow in his stomach as the inky black water came rushing up at him like a hungry maw. He didn’t even have a chance to take a breath, his mind still trying to catch up to what was happening to him. He still was coming to the realization that he had slipped and fell when he broke the surface and whatever little bit of air in his lungs was squeezed out at the sudden shock of cold to his system.

Everything was pain, his skin stung and his head was heavy as he sank lower and lower. The pressure was hurting his ears and as he parted his lips, something warm came seeping from between his teeth. Keenan could taste copper in his mouth from where he had bitten his tongue on the way down and his hands grasped weakly trying to find some semblance of up and down. He couldn’t see anything once his glasses fell off.

There was so much pressure on him, pulling him deeper and deeper…. Deeper, till all he could hear was the sound of whale songs all around him.

***

Keenan shot up from the pillow panting and crying for the second time this vacation. Tears were streaking down his sweat drenched face and his breath was shallow as if someone had forcefully torn from a nightmare. He felt a cold weight near his head and looked over to see Tanner there with a worried look on his face.

He was leaning with one hand over his body, his other resting on his shoulder in a tight grip. He must have shook him awake. It would explain the soreness seeping into that limb. Tanner let him go and pulled back once he was sure he wouldn’t be falling back asleep but the concerned crease in his brow remained.

“You were having a nightmare.” Tanner stated quietly, his tone so low that Keenan had to strain his ears to hear it over the heavy beating of his heart. “Almost punched me when I tried to wake you.”

Keenan sat up and leaned his weight on his shoulders. Now in a more comfortable position, he glanced around the room. Jared wasn’t around and from the view out the window, he must have been sleeping for several hours. It was completely dark outside.

“Want to talk about it?” Tanner inquired, sitting back down in the chair next to the bed. At Keenan’s gaze, he nodded in a reassuring gesture. 

“I’m fine.”

Tanner gave him a soft smile. He appeared far too content for someone who had just woken someone up from a nightmare. “You know that no one will judge you here. Lots of people have nightmares.” When Keenan didn’t respond, he sighed and brushed his bang out of his eyes. “Look, I know what your going through. I know it’s-”

“Where’s Jared?” Keenan cut him off with curt tone. He refused to look Tanner in the eyes.

Tanner tensed at that but sighed and relented with his questioning. “He left to go tell your guide that you are okay. Nori, I think he said her name was? I dunno. Apparently she was panicking over you being gone for so long.”

“How long have I been gone for?” 

There was a long hum as Tanner thought on that. He made a few popping noises with his mouth before settling on an answer. “About five or so hours.”

Keenan kicked out from under the sweat soaked sheets and stumbled to get back up. He got tangled in the blankets and fell to the ground with a thud. He heard a snicker above him and lifting the sheet off his head, he saw Tanner grinning at his crumbled form.

“Really in a rush to get going eh?” Tanner mused, stroking his chin like he had an imaginary beard.

Keenan grumbled and slapped the floor before getting back up. He untangled himself from the blankets and tossed it back onto the bed before stomping over to the door. “Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you did but I’m having a very stressful time. I’d appreciate if you’d just… point me in the direction he went so I can go find him.”

“At this time of night? You do know it’s almost ten right?” Tanner quirked a brow at him but didn’t appear to be amused anymore. In fact he had a somber look on his face like he was contemplating something. “Besides Jared not being here is probably the perfect time to get some answers, don’t you think?”

Keenan paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob. He hesitated for a moment but that was all Tanner needed to gage his interest. He looked back at Tanner with a frustrated crease in his brow.

“Yeah, I thought so..” The man patted the bed and gave a welcoming tilt towards him. “Sit.”

Despite every instinct telling him not to, Keenan silently obeyed. He walked across the room and took a seat on the bed with a raised brow. After a half second of silence he crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Well?”

“I’m thinking.” Tanner hummed.

“Of?” 

“How to word my question.”

Keenan scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Your question? What about the hundreds that I have?”

“Yeah, that’s nice.” Tanner gave a dismissive wave of his hand and rolled his eyes before meeting his gaze with a disconnected look. Whatever emotions he had been wearing before were now wiped clean and left him with a blank stare that gave none of his thoughts away. “Mine is more important though. Mine is in regards to my best friend.”

“Jared?”

Tanner tilted his head back and forth once in a gesture that seemed to say ‘neither here, nor there’ before shrugging. “What are your intentions with him. Looking for a quick fuck or..”

“How dare you.. You think.. You…” Keenan turned bright red and scoffed in an offended tone. He got up from his seated position with an indignant expression on his face. He had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself before he continued. “Even if that was any of your business, you think I would just tell you?”

“Yes.” Tanner answered quickly, leaving no room for questioning his temperament. He may have been looking calm and collected but the way he spoke gave away his demanding nature.

Keenan started to walk back over to the doorway wanting nothing more than to be done with the conversation. His back was to Tanner and he looked out the window, surprised with how close this house was to the water. It appeared to be located directly on the beach. He gave a sigh and leaned forward to rest his weight on the window sill. His gaze trailed up to look at Tanner in the reflection before answering. 

“I don’t know what I want. Really. At one point I just wanted to wander the island with him and be so close and hold hands and..” He looked down at his fingers and clenched a hand slowly, exhaling as he did so. There was a lengthy pause as Keenan chewed his lower lip. “I could have spent my entire vacation just happily at his side.”

“What changed?”

Keenan looked up at Tanner again through the reflection. He inhaled slowly and turned to face him completely. He fidgeted with his hands in a nervous display before letting them fall to his sides. “Nothing changed. At least, nothing I’m aware of.” He paused and scrunched his nose as he tried to focus. “I don’t know why I feel the way I do but my heart… It feels so full around him.”

Tanner slowly nodded at that. “Do you love him?”

“What?” Keenan looked at him in panic. He didn’t see any judgement on the others eyes and lifted a hand to grasp at his shirt, right over where his heart was. “Do I-”

“Love him, yes.”

Keenan had no idea how to respond to that. It wasn’t that he hadn’t had feelings for people in the past. On the contrary, he had too much affection to give at times. But this situation he was in felt so much different than all the flight of fancy he had felt in his lifetime. They made him feel warm and gushy, leaving him unable to pronounce words properly at the best of times but this thing he had with Jared felt stronger. It wasn’t just warm, it was scolding hot. It felt like someone had left him in a sauna to steam. His breath got heavy and his heart thudded like it was so willing to escape his chest.

It wasn’t like he was stumbling over words. They were just non existent when he was around Jared. Was that love?

Tanner sighed and pinched at his brow. “Look, I’ve known Jared for years and in all my time knowing him, I have never seen him act the way he has been till you showed up.”

“Well I’m sorry that he seems to like me.” Keenan offered but his tone lacked any sort of sympathy. His apology was a hollow one. He didn’t exactly like the idea of being interrogated by Jared’s best friend like them going on a date was a shameful thing.

“I don’t think you understand what I am saying.” Tanner stood up suddenly and directed his blue eyes on him. They were devoid of the usual warmth, now cold and lacking of any cheerfulness. “He stood between you and Baba. No one and I mean no one gets in an elders way and doesn’t face consequences.” 

Keenan squinted down at his palms as he tried to recall the hazy details from what had occurred in the old woman’s home. He remembered the smell of food and the silhouette of people standing over him but everything else was a blur. The only thing he could recall was feeling Jared’s warmth grounding him and keeping him from passing out. He peeked up at Tanner and gave him a sorrowful look. “He.. did that for me?”

Tanner continued to stare at him for a long moment before his eyes widened in realization. He tsked and his nose scrunched up in a frustrated expression. “He risked punishment and you really have no idea what’s going on.”

“Leave him alone Tanner.”

Both of them looked over to see Jared walking in from the hallway. He was carrying a woven basket on one arm, the other still holding the door knob. Jared was no longer wearing his hoodie and instead had a pair of sunglasses sitting on top of his head. His hair was soaked and without any sort of top, his tattoos were on full display.

“Leave him alone? I’m supposed to ignore the fact that this is going to bite us on the ass because you decided to piss off Baba?” Tanner turned completely to face him like Keenan didn’t even exist and crossed his arms over his chest. His lip was curved down in disapproval and a hip was cocked to the side in an impatient stance. He looked Jared up and down and shook his head. “Let me guess. You were over there trying to make amends.”

Jared let out a gruff noise and passed by him, their shoulders brushing. He tilted his head ever so slightly to give Tanner a warning glance. “Does it matter if I’m on her shit list? I can handle it.”

Tanner shook his head but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to because his friend repeated his previous statement again but with more conviction.

“I can handle it.”

There was a weak noise and both of them looked over at the direction it came from. Keenan was sitting on the bed with a hand extended weakly in front of him like he wanted to say something but now that both were looking at him, he lost the will to speak. He lowered his hand to his lap and glared down at them with clenched fists, knuckles turning white.

Tanner’s lips pursed and he made an indication of his head towards the door but Jared narrowed his eyes at him. There was a moment of unspoken conversation between the two of them and finally Tanner threw his hands up with a sigh, walking out of the door with a soft ‘unbelievable’ on his tongue. 

Jared braced against the blow as Tanner bumped their shoulders again as he passed. He didn’t say anything until he was gone and the door was closed again. He waited till the footsteps got more distant and another door slam was heard further in the house. With an exhausted pinch to his brow, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself before joining Keenan on the bed.

“Sorry I was gone so long. I only meant to be gone for a few minutes but some stuff came up.” Jared was close enough that their knees were bumping and he gave him a weak smile. He reached into the basket and pulled out two smaller baskets. One had rolls in it that smelled of spiced meat and they were still steaming as he removed the lid. The other had some sort of glazed batter that had sugar sprinkled over it and Jared licked his thumb clean as he opened that one too. “But I brought some food back to make up for it. Remember Marl’a? Her mother made these and-”

“I’m sorry.” Keenan interrupted, still looking down at his balled fists. He refused to make eye contact, shoulders shaking as he prepared to take the brunt of the blame for what happened earlier.

“Don’t say that.” Jared responded back without missing a beat. He was still reaching into the basket, pulling out other smaller containers even as Keenan started to stutter out his reasonings for his apology. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But you got in trouble because of me. Tanner said so.”

Jared reached forward and took both sides of his face in his palms. He pulled Keenan’s gaze up to him and gave him a disapproving frown. “No, none of that. I don’t want to hear you blame yourself.”

Before Keenan could speak up, he interrupted again with a shake of his head. “No buts. I don’t care what Tanner said. It was my choice. Not his and not anyone else's.”

“Aren’t you going to get into trouble?” He asked with a tilt of his head, looking up at Jared like the man was insane. How could someone who quite clearly pissed off such an important member of the island be taking this situation so easily?

Jared grinned like he hadn’t a care in the world. “Hah, you think that’ll stop me? I never once cared about people's opinions before and I’m not about to start.” He stroked a thumb over Keenan's cheek and drew him into close proximity. 

Their foreheads pressed together and a quiet moment passed over the two of them before Keenan piped up again. "You'd tell me if I do something wrong in the future, right?"

"When have I been known to refrain?" Jared joked, his smile and gaze full of untold affection.

That cheered Keenan up and he let out a soft laugh. He lifted a hand to trail along the dip of Jared’s throat and coaxed him closer with a shy look. Their noses bumped once as they found their own pace and slowly their lips met in a kiss. It was sensual but slow and the taste of honey was still on Jared’s lips. 

Keenan’s hand smoothed up his neck and tangled in damn red locks. The smell of sea salt was pungent on his skin, a familiar scent that was like the ocean’s current living in Jared’s very veins. The smell was so familiar and it drew a gentle gasp from him. He pressed his head against Jared’s shoulder so he could inhale deeper. Keenan felt a little tickle go through him as Jared changed courses and was now trailing his lips along his throat. He couldn’t deny the little happy noise that escaped him as he practically pushed himself to be on his lap. 

Being next to him just wasn’t good enough and Jared seemed to agree, if the hands tugging at his waist were any indication. Keenan’s knees were positioned either side of his hips as he was pulled perfectly on his lap. They continued their gentle exploring, hands smoothing over dips and curves while their mouths met again. It was a slow, leisurely kiss that let the both of them breathless but sated. Keenan was far too content where he was to want to move. His arms wound around Jared’s shoulder and his fingers traced one of the many tattoos there, drawing a soft exhale of breath from him.

Keenan flushed at that and was about to apologize when he felt Jared retaliate with a nibble at his neck. The space below the dip of his ear was captured between teeth and the warmth gathered there brought a flush to his face. He let out a high pitched noise and embarrassed at the sound, buried his face in the redheads shoulder. He could feel a rumble of laughter deep in Jared’s chest and just wanted to curl up and die. Instead he was tortured further by that talented mouth sucking more marks along the skin there.

“J-Jared..” He managed some semblance of the other man’s name despite how shaky his breathing was getting. His heart was beating heavily in his chest and his fingers were clasping on for dear life. It was getting much harder to focus on anything but the man that was filling all his senses. Just when he was willing to allow the tide to pull him away, a rumbling in his stomach drew him back into the situation at hand. Keenan flushed red and looked away.

"Sounds like someone's hungry." Jared purred against the shell of his ear. He unwound his arms around Keenan’s waist and easily deposited him on the bed so casually that it was almost like they hadn’t been making out just moments ago.

The whole gear shift made Keenan’s head spin. It was next to impossible to keep up with the other man. He moved just like the tides, sometimes too fast and stealing him out into the depths. Other times, he was just a tantalizing sight that tempted him to come closer on his own terms. Keenan rubbed at his face and could feel the heat there. He didn’t need to look in a mirror to know just how red he was. He let out a few stuttering breaths before he finally got up the nerve to meet Jared’s gaze again. 

Those eyes were so warm. Jared made no qualms about hiding his affection towards him and smirked, gaze trailing along his throat as if admiring his handiwork. Even as Keenan slapped a palm to hide the love bites, he didn’t seem bothered and just laughed, bright and happy. He leaned back so his weight was resting on one hand and with the other, offered Keenan the first basket. 

Jared shook it back and forth and the warm rolls shifted around at the movements. The smell of spiced meat got stronger and steam was still rising from them. "It's a pulled pork roll."

Keenan hungrily grabbed one and took a bite. The roll was as big as his fist and just one bite alone had his taste buds overwhelmed by flavours. He let out a heavenly hum and took another bite, looking over at Jared with a questioning look. The man’s eyes were trailing up and down him hungrily as he continued to make happy noises as he ate. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and after shoving the last of the roll in his mouth, he let out a muffled ‘what?’ and rose a brow at him.

“Nothing.” Jared shook his head and grabbed one of the buns, taking a bite out of it. The steam was rising from the warm meat inside. He sat there chewing and gave Keenan a contemplative look before he finally came to some sort of conclusion as he ate. After a few more bites, he rested his hands on his lap and leaned in to give him a little kiss to his cheek.

Keenan flushed at that and almost coughed up his food from the way he had choked. He made a noise equivalent to a bird and squawked out indignantly at how easily Jared caught him off guard. “What was that for?”

“Nothing.” 

Jared’s tone was one of mocking innocence and Keenan didn’t buy it for one second. He gave him a suspicious glare before he risked looking away to grab another bun. He only glanced away for one second but when he looked back, Jared was grinning at him like he knew something that he didn’t. ‘What?” He repeated again, more and more frustrated at the idea that Jared knew something that he didn’t.

“I was just thinking about how Nori reacted when I told her you were staying with me.”

Keenan let out a burst of laughter and tried to cover it with a palm but it was too late, Jared had seen it and it egged him on.

“Oh yes, she was screaming at me that I was quote on quote, stealing her job.’ Jared held up two fingers in air quotations as he spoke, his grin giving away how he felt about the conversation between him and the green haired guide. “She tried to get me to tell her where you were and when that didn’t work, she latched herself to my side until another guide peeled her off me.”

“The crazy thing is.. I can actually picture all this happening.” Keenan took a bite of his bun and made a face at how hot it was. He should have waited for it to cool down more but he persisted stubbornly and ate it despite tears gathering in his eyes. “I always get the eccentric people.”

Jared rose a brow at him and gave him a playful elbow. “I certainly hoping your not talking about me. I’m about as ordinary as the come.”

“Oh, of course Mr I-do-fire-spinning-in-my-spare-time. That’s definitely a trait I would use to describe an ordinary person.” Keenan grinned, ducking to the side to avoid the elbow pushing into his side. “It’s true. You are far from ordinary but I think that’s what I love most about you.”

Keenan didn’t even have the chance to bite back what he had said when Jared was already crowding into his side. He had internally winced at using the dangerous ‘L’ word but from how the other man beamed at him and pulled him in for a one armed hug, it was hard for him to feel regret at saying it.

“Well I suppose you’re right then. I’m not very ordinary.. But like hell I’m anything like Nori.”

They both had a little laugh between the two of them and Keenan leaned into Jared’s embrace, smiling as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “I don’t think I’ve met anyone like my guide.”

“I’ll admit though. It was a nice change of pace to talk to someone from the hotel that didn’t end in yelling and security being called.” Jared shrugged, looking across the room with a distant gleam in his eyes. He was still smiling but it was faint on his lips as he talked. “All in all, despite everything else, she was very concerned for your well being and pretty much sized me up like I was going to steal your virtue without her permission or something.”

Keenan sputtered at that and had to look away as that sound drew Jared’s attention back to him. He coughed into his hand and tried to make a show of holding his fingers to his lips. After a few more seconds of exaggerated throat clearing, he pointed at himself. “Uh.. just food went down the wrong hole..”

“Yeah.. I’m sure.” Jared grinned like he didn’t believe him but didn’t call him out on it. In fact, he just waited with a cheeky smirk till Keenan shoved the last of the bun into his mouth. “But really, do I need her permission to claim your virtue?”

Keenan almost choked again and leaned forward at Jared’s laughter. He brought a hand up and punched the man on the shoulder as he managed to get it all down before he spat it back up again in an embarrassing display. After a few seconds, he let out a long exhale and looked up to glare at the redhead. “Fuck you.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do.” Jared sighed, rubbing his shoulder as if he had actually been injured by the gently strike he had received.

Keenan had expected a lot of responses from what he had said but that was the last one that had been on his mind. To actually hear Jared come out and clearly say what they had been dancing around all day was so breathtaking. He was expecting them to duck around the topic like it was a landmine but then again, if he had learned anything from the man so far, it was that he liked to do things that no one expected. 

He flushed and looked up at Jared. The man wasn’t looking at him and that fact was suspicious to say the least. He felt a desperate need gnawing inside his chest and before his confidence could plummet, he reached forward and took hold of his chin. He forced the redhead to look him in the eyes and what he saw made him gasp. 

Jared didn’t resist him as he turned his head and allowed his expression to be seen as clear as day. His eyes were bright and clear, so open and full of affection but diverted like he was afraid to meet his gaze. His face burned a pinkish hue that could not be blamed on the sun. It was warm to the touch as Keenan stroked a thumb over one cheek and his lower lip was caught between his teeth, shaking as he refrained from saying more.

A few heartbeats passed between them and Jared finally let out a breath that blew up his bangs. Their eyes locked and whatever he had been hiding finally came out in a slow exhale. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, really. That was crude of me.”

“So all this time you actually wanted to…. With me?” Keenan trailed off with a little quirk of his lip.

Jared looked at him in disbelief. “All the time? Keenan, have you looked at yourself in a mirror? Whoever says they don’t want to be with you is a goddamn liar.” He let out a little laugh that sounded more nervous before he reigned it in and continued. “When I first met you I didn’t want to get too involved in case... Well, let’s just say a lot of tourists think coming to an exotic island means they can just sample the people as easily as they do the food.”

“What changed?” He found himself repeating Tanner’s earlier question. His hands fell from Jared’s cheeks to fall into the space between them. He gently traced the lines of stitch work along the blanket beneath them.

There was a brief moment that was filled with a creaking as Jared shuffled on the bed. He looked like he was trying to distract himself as he came up with a good answer. The expression on his face showed conflict and worry before finally settling on honesty. “You did. The longer you were here, the more you spoke to the people… You changed. You’d look at me and it was like staring into the sun.”

Keenan managed a stuttering inhale and swallowed the feelings that were threatening to spill out. He felt warmth on his hand and looked down to see that Jared had rested his on top. Their fingers shifted and ever so slowly, they became intertwined. He peeked back up to see Jared biting his lips again.

“Please say something. I’m literally losing my mind here.” Jared’s words were so open and honest, he had no doubt in his mind that would happen if he didn’t give him any sort of response.

He lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to Jared’s wrist, smiling up with a watery looking in his eyes. “Jared, I’ve always been bad at these sorts of things. Feelings and relationships. They never work for people like me.”

At the deflated expression he received, Keenan backtracked and spoke louder to get his attention. “Because when I fall, I don’t just stumble. I fall head over heels and I tumble downhill till I’m left in a crumpled mess because I committed to much to a relationship that was one sided.”

Jared looked at their joined hands before raising his gaze back up to Keenan’s face. His worried look changed to one of surprise, like he had found something of worth. “So when we first met..”

“Head over heels. It was a pull like none other.” Keenan scratched at his brow and let out a nervous laugh. “Fuck, I wanted to kiss your big angry face right then and there. Even as I ran, I was wondering if you would chase me and..”

“I did.” At Keenan’s look, he reiterated with a raised hand and pointed at him. “I did contemplate chasing you and tackling you but- Well, I figured that would be too much.”

“Even for you?” He laughed cheerfully and leaned into his shoulder, looking up at him with an amused glimmer in his eyes.

Jared smirked back and shook his head. He pulled Keenan closer into his side and gleefully kissed the top of his head. “Even for me.”

The two of them stayed like that, leaning against each other with hands clasped. They slowly went through the entire basket of steamed buns and turned their attention to the basket filled with little glazed treats.

“These are sopapilla. The honey glazed on top are from bees that the villagers raise. Try one.” Jared offered the one that he had pinched between thumb and forefinger towards Keenan. When he opened his mouth, he pressed it past his lips and hand fed him.

Keenan chewed the fried treat with a contemplative expression on his face. Not even a second passed before he was beaming up at Jared and parting his lips for another. “Ahh~” He extended that tone for the several seconds it took for the redhead to feed him another one.

“What do you think?” Jared asked, picked up one for himself. He popped the entire thing in his mouth and chewed before licking his thumb clean. He reached up to clean the honey staining his index finger when his wrist was captured by Keenan. His brow raised and his breath stuttered as he brought them up to his own mouth.

Before he regretted his actions, Keenan brought Jared’s hand to his mouth and popped the tip of his finger into his mouth. He didn’t show an ounce of restraint as he did so, too hopped up from the euphoria he was feeling to cease what he was doing before he went too far. Keenan didn’t care at this point and hummed to himself as he worked, swirling his tongue around the honey soaked finger. 

Their eyes locked and Keenan saw the way Jared’s pupils dilated at the sight of him lathering his hand in long licks. Warmth blossomed his chest and he smiled around his index finger, pulling it free from his lips with a resounding ‘pop’. He grinned and licked his lips in satisfaction, enjoying the baffled expression on Jared’s face a little too much. “I like it. Very sweet.”

Jared swallowed heavily, his adam’s apple bobbing as he did so. Just like Keenan, he barely showed any restraint and let go of his hand so he could grab the front of his shirt. A deep growl reverberated in his chest as he tugged him into a kiss. This one was not as gentle and he made no qualms about the path his needy hands took. He grabbed at Keenan’s hips and lifted him up so he was sitting on his lap. His breath came out in heavy snarls and he pulled back only for a moment to hiss in his ear. “You really are pushing me to my limit here.”

“Maybe I like seeing you like this.” Keenan’s voice was but a breathy whisper at the feeling of his warm mouth sucking along his throat. His hips were moving of their own accord, rotating so he could sit properly on Jared’s lap. Once he was seated with both legs on either side of his waist, he tilted his head back to let the needy noises fall from his lips. The feeling of teeth on his heated skin had his pulse racing and his adrenaline spiking. “Jared please..”

“Please what?” The redhead growled like some sort of feral beast. He directed them into a roll and kept his grip on Keenan’s hips long enough so that he was laid out on the bed underneath him. He looked down at him with a sharp grin, looking much like a predatory who had pinned his prey. “Well?”

Jared was driving his patience to the breaking point. He could feel hands trying desperately to unbutton his shirt but he wasn’t going fast enough for his liking. “Please.. I want you so badly.” Keenan’s fingers trembled as they moved up to assist him. It was hard to focus though due to the mouth that staked its claim on his.

Their bodies lapsed and rocked against each other like the rolling of the tides as they kissed and Keenan batted away the empty basket next to his head so he could have more room to squirm. The man arched over his body was already tracing warm fingers under his shirt and they left goosebumps in their wake. Jared had given up on trying to unbutton his shirt earlier and had just grabbed the two halves of the material, popping the buttons clean off with a pull.

“Asshole, I liked that shirt..” Keenan pulled back to make a frustrated noise at him. On one hand, the relieve of feeling those fingers trailing his exposed skin was wonderful but that was an expensive shirt. 

He hardly had a moment to mourn it when Jared returned to sucking marks along his neck. “I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.” He kissed his apology against the curve of his clavicle. 

Keenan mumbled, clawing at the sheets just above his head. “You better..”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” There was a loud shout from the doorway and Keenan looked over with a startle, seeing Tanner standing there with his hands above his head in disbelief. “I CAN’T EVEN LEAVE YOU TWO FOR FIVE MINUTES!!”

Jared glared at his friend and gave him the finger. “No one asked for you to come back.”

“Yeah, no.. This is not happening. You two are not fucking in my guest room.” Tanner walked across the room till he was standing in front of them. He started to clap his hands together in an obnoxious way. “Get up. I swear to god I am not going to burn my sheets because of you two. What the hell.. You spilled sopapilla all over the floor.”

Jared sighed and climbed off of Keenan, lifting his weight off his waist. “You know there’s a thing called a ‘washing machine’. You don’t have to burn your sheets every time I fuck around in them.” 

“What do you mean by every time?!” Keenan and Tanner said at the same time. They both were looking at the redhead incredulously like they didn’t believe him before looking at each other.

Jared looked back and forth between the two of them and cleared his throat. He pointed at the door. “I gotta go.”

“Are they fucking in there?” Another voice, one that Keenan had never heard before called from the hallway.

Tanner turned to face the doorway, pinching his brow before letting out a long drawn out sigh. “Well not anymore. I caught them just before they started.” He looked down at something on his carpet and squinted like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Are those.. buttons?”

Whoever was out in the living room giggled like the situation was amusing and there was a thud, followed by a crash. After a few quiet seconds, they replied with a quiet ‘..oops.’

“Oh for the love of.. Are you breaking stuff out there?” Tanner stomped out into the hallway, passing by Keenan and Jared without a second glance. The minute he was out of the room, muffled conversation and two more things breaking could be heard.

Keenan looked at Jared for answers and tilted his head at him. “Jared?”

“Yeah?” The man looked up at him with fire still in his eyes. There was no doubt that if Tanner and his friend wasn’t there, he’d jump him again. His gaze was locked on the bite marks that littered Keenan’s throat.

“As much as I want to stay and maybe ruin your friends guest bed.” Jared’s nostrils flared at his words. “I should head back before Nori sends out a search party for me.”

“Let me walk you back.” Jared hopped up and offered an arm to help him off the bed. Once both of them were on their feet, he gave Keenan a once over. The buttons on his shirt were all popped off so his chest was exposed. He let out a shaky breath and glanced around looking for something.

“I still cannot believe you broke all the buttons off.” Keenan quietly mourned the front of his nice button down shirt and looked up at the sound of a drawer being opened. Jared pulled out a dark green t-shirt with a bulbasaur printed on the front. He held it up to himself to assess the size and with a nod, he tossed it in his direction. “You sure Tanner won’t mind me wearing this?”

Jared nodded and made the motions of cleaning up all the baskets from their meal as Keenan switched tops. “He always keeps extra stuff around in case I stay over. I’m sure he won’t mind you borrowing it for a day.”

Once he was dressed, Keenan did a little twirl to the amusement of the redhead. “Well?”

“You look good. Ready to go?” Jared offered his arm again and Keenan leaned into it, allowing him to guide him through the house. They passed through the kitchen and living room but didn’t see anyone around. There was a vase that had once been on the counter now missing and bits of ceramic were swept into a corner. 

“Hm, looks like they went out. Maybe we could stay here..” Jared gave a little sly grin and made a pained noise at Keenan’s playful shove. “I kid. I kid.”

Keenan was grinning despite himself and waited on the front porch as he locked the door. While Jared was struggling with the keys, he got a brief chance to glance around. The house was situation on the beach and was completely isolated from the boardwalk and any semblance of civilization. He wasn’t wearing his contacts so he couldn’t see details but he could see the dark shape of trees and the stark contrast of white sand beneath his feet. There were no torches or lights to represent nearby homes or even a man made shape over the treeline to represent any forms of structures as he peered inland. The outside was dark, the sandy beach only lit up by the moon overhead. 

“Alright. Ready to go back?” Jared spun the keys on his finger before shoving them into his pocket and offering a hand.

Keenan smiled up at him and took it, interlocking their fingers. Neither of them has exactly put a name to whatever they were to each other but the midnight stroll on the beach was too romantic too ignore. It was the kind of thing that people dating did. “Where do we go?”

“Hidden behind those trees is a path that will take up past the bird conservatory.” Jared indicated towards trees but all Keenan saw was black smudges in arching swiggles that went skyward.

Keenan gave him a sheepish grin as he stumbled once over a dip in the sand. Had he not been holding his hand, he would have eaten dirt quite literally. “Is this a bad time to mention that I can’t see a thing?”

“You haven’t been wearing your glasses all day?” Jared’s tone was one of confusion before things clicked and he let out a long ‘oh’ sound. “You were wearing contacts.”

“Yeah.. kinda had to take them out. They were starting to hurt.” Keenan further indicated his point by taking out his contact case and waving in front of him before returning them to the safety of his pocket. He really didn’t want to end up dropping them and loosing them in the dunes. “I’m not completely blind but I can’t really make out any details so you’ll have to guide me.”

“Don’t worry.” Jared’s tone was playful. “I’ll make sure you get home before the parents ground you.”

“Yes of course. Before mama Nori locks me in that underwater box I call a room.” Keenan trailed off with a disdainful tone. “I can’t believe she broke into my room while I was out.”

“Yikes.”

The two of them talked back and forth as they walked. The conversation bounced from Keenan’s job to what life in the big city was like. It was calming to hear nothing but the crunch of sand under their feet and crickets singing all around them. One of them leading. The other following, quite literally blind.

Keenan flinched as a light flashed in his face and he yelped before a hand braced him. His hand instinctively swished forward and batted something small and hand out of the way. He glanced over at Jared, not seeing him very well but feeling content knowing he was there at his side. “What was that?”

“Firefly.” He watched as the man reached forward. His palm went from a dull blur to a light up blur as he snagged something out of the air. Jared brought his loosely clenched fist up to his face and slowly opened it to reveal the littlest bug sitting on his palm.

Keenan let out a small breath and lowered his own hand to cover the bug. A few seconds past and flickering green light flashed between his fingers. He giggled as it climbed onto his hand and he rotated his wrist to let the firefly crawl up his palm freely. It flashed several more times before he felt the weight of it leave his hand and the light made the journey upwards till it was one of many blinking lights against a starry sky.

He felt Jared’s presence next to him leave with a quiet ‘watch this’ whispered into his ear. His steps crunched as he walked a few feet away.

“Watch what? You know I can’t see any..” His complaints dies in his throat at the sound of him shaking a large bush nearby. The moment drew out dozens of fireflies that had been hiding within and they all flew up and scattered till the air was full of dozens of them. “Whoa..”

“Whoa indeed.” Jared repeated as he came up to his side again. He wound an arm around Keenan’s waist and pulled him close so they could continue to walk the pathway without any tripping. “What do you think?”

“Truthfully?” At Jared’s hum, he swallowed his nervousness and just said what he wanted to say. No regrets. No take backs. Right here and now was make it or break it. The only regret he would have was the fact that he wasn’t wearing his glasses and he wouldn’t be able to see his reaction. “Jared, I think I’m falling more and more in love with you the longer we spend together.”

There was a brief pause of silence and Keenan followed a blinking blur of light with his eyes before continuing uninterrupted. “Is it strange that we’ve only known each other for two days and yet, I feel like I’ve already lived a lifetime with you? Are we going too fast? I always rush into things too quickly but this one didn’t feel… wrong. I’ve been so comfortable around you and oh god, did I just mess this up?”

Keenan was pulled back from his rambling at the feel of a warm calloused thumb stroking along his chin. He leaned into that warmth till there was a palm cupping each cheek, directing him to look upwards. Their gaze met and Keenan wanted to cry out in frustration as how unfocused the man before him was. He wanted to see the expression painted on his face.

“No you didn’t mess this up.” Jared made another noise, this one being a happy little hum. He must have caught on that Keenan couldn’t see him perfectly and was using audio queues to get his point across. 

“Keenan, I’ve lived for so long…” His voice sounded exhausted like an old man who was recounted decades of history that had come and gone. “Most of it was spent alone. I mean, as much as Tanner likes to pride himself on being my best friend, we’ve only known each other for a few years.”

Keenan’s expression must have gave away his thoughts on that because Jared chuckled and both thumbs stroked a cheek. “Yeah, he’s a protective one but I guess, with the kind of life we live.. That’s essential.”

“I don’t understand-” His question was cut off by Jared again, more short and to the point this time.

“Which is why I have to tell you. Falling in love with me is not…” Jared let out a single sad huff of laughter and pressed their foreheads together. “It’s dangerous. I wish I could give you everything I have to give but I can’t. I can’t… love you.”

Keenan’s expression deflated and he lifted his hands up to grab at Jared’s wrists. He wanted to pull them away from his face but he couldn’t so they simply hovered there. He wanted to run away but he couldn't, so he just stood in place. He just wanted to throw himself onto the ground and cry… but he couldn’t. He had to be stronger than this. 

As much as he didn’t want to admit out loud, he still needed him. Even if it was just to make sure he got home alright. He didn’t just want anymore. When they were kissing, it was just a want. When they were holding each other and whispering things they wanted to do to each other, it was just a want. But under the starry sky and surrounded by fireflies, it had been a need. 

A need that he wasn’t allowed to have apparently.

“Trust me, the first time we met, I felt the same thing. It was a pull so strong that it made my head spin. I want you too. I really do.” Jared’s tone was more desperate but Keenan just swallowed back the lump in his chest and tried to meet his eyes as best as he could. He didn’t need to hear the other desperately trying to backpedal from the things he said. His intent was clear as day.

Keenan finally grab ahold of his hands and pulled them from his face. Once he placed them so that the palms were touching, he looked up through bleary eyes. He hoped he wasn’t crying but he couldn’t tell it the smudged version of Jared was from his glasses or the tears he was fighting back. “Just.. take me back.” 

“Keenan..”

“Take me back.” He looked away and said nothing else, just waiting till the other complied with his request. He didn’t want any pity or excuses, he just wanted to go back to the hotel. 

Jared let out a long sigh and slowly nodded, moving his hands to take one of his. It didn’t feel as romantic and their fingers weren’t intertwined like they were mere moments ago. The feeling was still hot but it was more like a scalding burn than a loving touch now. Keenan glared at his shoes, willing the tears to not fall and hoping that he wouldn’t trip on the walk back.

When they walked in through the front door, Keenan was overwhelmed by a flash of green that practically bolted into his arms. He managed a weak noise as arms wrapped around his neck and tightened in a hold till he was red face and waving his arms around. He could hear a rapidfire amount of questions being fired his way but he couldn’t focus with the lack of oxygen. 

As quickly the choking presence was there, it pulled back and he saw a shock of green hair and a blurry face. It was Nori and from what he could tell of her appearance, she had waited up for him in the lobby till he got back.

“Keenan, oh my god. I was worried about you. You just decided to go off on you own and I tried to call you and you didn’t pick up. I had no idea how to get ahold of you and.. Oh, you look horrible.” She rested a hand on either shoulder to get a good look at him and from her tone, she didn’t like what she had seen.

He looked down at her with a tired gaze. “I’m fine.. I just..” The excuses died on his quivering lips and he pulled her into another embrace. This time he was the one hugging her to the point where she was trying to squirm out of his grasp.

“Keenan! This is highly inappropriate!” She squealed and managed to get out from under his arms with messy hair and puffed out cheeks. “What is going on with you?” 

The tears had started flowing and after a few seconds of silence, Nori finally caught onto what must have happened. She reached forward and wiped away a tear with a thumb but that only had him crying more. “I’m sorry. I had a bad day… and just want to sleep forever.” He mumbled through his sobs, his shoulders trembling as she guided him towards the elevator.

“There there. Let’s get you back to your room. We’ll talk about what happened there, okay?”

Keenan snuck a glance behind him and squinted to see better but it didn’t matter in the end. Jared was no longer there. He must have left the second he spotted Nori coming. That thought had his heart hurting even more. 

***

Nori managed to get him down the elevator and to his room without problem but as they were walking down the hall, he couldn’t stand up anymore and fell to his knees. She immediate was at his side and running a hand over his shoulder in a soothing gesture. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, I have a bad headache. I left my contacts in for too long and I don’t think I slept properly.” He tacked on that last part with a quizzical tone because he really had no idea what had occurred when he went out with Jared. It had been a wonderful blur at first but now, the fact that he really couldn't remember things was really starting to cause him to panic.

“Well let’s get you in bed. Do you need an ibuprofen?”

Keenan fought to get himself back up and pressed a hand to the wall to steady himself. “Yes please. I have jackhammers in my brain right now.” He used the wall and counted the doors that he passed, using that to guide him back to his room.

Nori held him up once they were at the door so he could retrieve his keycard and unlock it for the both of them. Once inside, she led him to the bed cooing in a comforting gesture the entire time. “Shoes off first.”

He did as she asked and kicked his flip flops off as she began to pull back the covers and smooth the sheets down for him. Nori gave him a wave and guided him to the side of the bed. “Tuck yourself in while I’ll grab the ibuprofen from the bathroom.”

Keenan watched her blurry back disappear into the other room and he went through the sluggish process of removing his watch and belt. The sound of the faucet running was heard which gave him plenty of time to strip to his boxers and climb under the safety of his covers. They were soft and cool on his heated skin and already he was feeling a lot better. The pillow smelled like lavender and that relaxing scent was doing a good job bringing his racing thoughts to rest.

He didn’t have much time to think about the days events when Nori walked back in with a glass of water in one hand and a plastic container with three sealed pills in it. She stepped around the pile of clothes on the floor and kneeled next to the bed, holding the two items up for him to take.

“One pill should work and if you wake up in a few hours before morning, take another.” 

Keenan sat up a bit and popped one of the pills out of the foil. He downed it with the entire glass of water and flopped back again, eyes closing immediately. He listened to the sound of clicking heels as she walked away and refilled the glass in the bathroom before placing that on the side table. “Nori?”

She hummed at him in acknowledgment. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been so frustrated with you. I just wanted to go out and enjoy myself.. Be free and all that shit.” He chewed his lower lip and turned his head to face her, opening his eyes slightly to see her move and sit on the edge of the bed. “I messed up.. Like I usually do.”

“You said you were going on a date when you left this morning.” Nori stated quietly, her gaze fixated in the distance. At Keenan’s noise of affirmation, she continued. “Was that the cause of… this?”

Keenan laid there for a long time and didn’t say anything, directing his blurry gaze at the canopy above his head. “No, he wasn’t the one at fault. It was me.” He heard Nori start to argue but his interrupted her by clearing his throat and shaking his head. Once she quieted down, he closed his eyes and exhaled. “I jumped into something headfirst again and.. I thought what we had was bigger than it actually was. He said he couldn’t love me.”

“Oh Keenan… I’m so sorry.” She patted the bed next to her in a comforting gesture. “I don’t know how to help.”

Keenan gave her a watery smile and laughed, swallowing the heavy lump that had formed in his throat. His heart ached at the thought of Jared but what was mourning their time together going to get him? He feared his heart would only hurt more if he allowed himself to imagine those feather light touches and kisses. “It’s fine. I always pull myself together in the end. I’ll be okay.”

Nori looked at him with a sad expression, a hand over her heart. That hand clenched into a fist slowly as determination filled her gaze. “I know, tomorrow. We’ll make a big day out of it tomorrow! I’ll take you to the aviary and we’ll go to the Frosted Glass restaurant. Just you and me, no boys. What do you think?”

Keenan’s smile grew at that. “I would... like that actually.”

She nodded and stood up, still clenching her hand over her chest. “We’ll make up for lost time. But first, you need sleep, okay?”

“Thank you Nori.” He managed out between sleepy exhales and rolled away from the door to bury himself further into his blankets. The front door opened and the room was lit up from the hallway before it closed with a gentle click, taking the brightness with it. Keenan didn’t hear any tapping on his glass that night and he didn’t see any shadows outside in the water but he did dream. 

Perhaps that was even worse.

***


	6. Transition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her voice was warbled and warped like the ripple of a water's surface being broken by a skipping stone. It was hard to focus on anything but her words.
> 
> "Now wake up... Wake up!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw shit, here we go again...

“I just saw a boy go over the edge!” One man yelled and several other people began running to the side that he pointed at. 

There were members of the crew looking back and forth as they tried to assess what was happening in the water below them. One of them held a round rescue ring in one hand while they leaned as far as they could over the railing with the other. “Are you sure? I don’t see anyone.”

“He sank like a rock.” The first man tried to explain, describing the boy that had gone overboard to the best of his ability. “I was just coming around the corner when I saw him standing on the chair.”

“That’s too far of a drop for anyone to survive.”

“Who fell in?”

“A child? Where were their parents?”

A woman holding her daughter in her arms was looking between the various crew members, horror in her eyes. “Oh my god what’s going to happen?” She got no answers and as such, her panic grew. “My goodness, your not just going to let him drown..”

“We have this handled.”

Anger flashed in her eyes and she stepped towards the one man that tried speaking to her. “No your not. You’re just standing around doing nothing! That boy has a family!” Other people with children began to murmur in agreement with the lady.

“Ma’am, please calm down. We are handling this situation.” One man held his hands up as she got closer and closer. His back was pressed to the railing as she prodded him on the chest.

“KEENAN!” There was a horrible warbled cry as another woman cut through the crowd and ran up to the man standing there. She feverishly looked around and not seeing him, she grabbed a handful of the man’s shirt. “Please, my son is missing. I think he’s the boy that went over the edge.” She sobbed uncontrollably, being pulled back by her husband. He tugged her into a hug and looked at the cruise employee in desperation.

“Please bring our son back to us.” He begged the man, holding his wife as she sobbed into his shirt.

“Poor lady.”

“The water is freezing, there’s no way he’s still alive down there.”

“No one could survive a fall like that.”

The crowd standing around them parted as little hands reaches up to gently move them out of the way. They looked down at him as he took squishy steps in his wet shoes. Just as he broke out from the crowd, Keenan raised his hands up in a grabby gesture. “Mom, dad. I’m right here.”

His parents didn’t need to be told twice. They ran to him with bewildered by joyful expressions on their faces. He was pulled into a tight hug and continued to ask if he was already, his mother on her knees checking him for injuries. “Are you okay? Oh my god, Keenan. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No mom, I only fell in the water. I’m fine.” He held up his hands to show them off. There were no bruises or injuries like he had fallen and broken the hard surface of water from so high up. “See?”

His parent’s worry for him was pushed aside when a man stepped up next to him. He wore a captain's uniform that hide his eyes from view as he adjusted the brim. The man peered down at Keenan with a confused frown. “Son, how exactly did you get back up if you fell into the water?”

Keenan looked up at him with big round eyes. Despite being soaked from head to toe, he wasn’t shivering, even as his father wrapped his sweater around him to dry him off. He didn’t look frightened or shellshocked in the least. Instead a bright, innocent smile curled along his lips. He looked up at the captain through his soaked bangs, still dripping all over the floor.

“The whales.”

***

Keenan woke up to the sound of knocking at his door. His eyes slowly fluttered opened and he stared up at the canopy overhead for a long second. He strained his ears and heard the knock repeat. Realizing it wasn’t a figment of his imagination, he rolled over to face it and called out with a gravelly voice. “Hello?”

“Good morning. It’s Nori.”

He sat up and glanced over at the clock on the desk. Ten O’clock. It was hard to believe that he had slept at least that much. He had assumed it would have taken much longer to get used to sleeping under water but strangely enough he had woken up this time without a tear in his eye or panic in his brain. Keenan extended his arms over his head in a leisurely stretch and slowly tried to climb out of the bed. He huffed out a tired noise as his body was far too content with being under the covers to get out from under them. “Uhh… I just woke up. Give me a few minutes to get ready.”

“Okay sleepy head. I’ll be back in a bit with coffee. How do you take it?”

Keenan rustled his bedhead with one hand, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he yawned. “Just black. Thank you.” He called out. His voice was like a croak and sounded like death warmed over. Clearing his throat didn’t work so he reached over to the end table to grab the glass left behind by his guide. He threw it back in a few gulps and sighed, glancing around for his glasses and phone.

“Alright. I’ll be back in a jiffy. Don’t you go anywhere.”

He smirked at her threatening undertone and shook his head. “I won’t. I promise.” There was no reply after that so he assumed that Nori had left to do as she said she would. It gave him plenty of time to finally work up the courage to crawl out from under the covers and sit on the edge of his bed, phone in hand. 

Keenan threw his head back in an exaggerated sigh and glared at the ceiling. He didn’t charge his phone last night and quietly mourned the battery life in the top right corner of the screen. It was definitely going to die during the day if he didn’t charge it right now. He would only get a few minutes of charge while getting dressed but maybe that will be enough to last him through the day. Keenan turned on battery saver and thumbed over a few notifications he had missed while naturally going through the process of putting on his glasses. Then he came to a realization.

He had been reading the messages on his phone clear as day before he even placed his glasses on his face. Keenan’s brows creased at that thought and sure enough holding them in front of his eyes showed no clear difference in what he was looking at. The words on the screen were perfectly defined and when he took the glasses away, they remained that way. He repeated that motion three more times before things clicks and he shot up from his bed.

“Fuck.” Keenan was up and in the washroom in an instant, panicking as he grabbed his contact case on the way by. “I can’t believe I slept with these in again.” 

Flicking on the bathroom light, he braced himself one handedly on the sink to lean into the mirror. He went to pinch the contact out of his eye but was confused when his fingers were met with nothing. The panic started to set in and he unscrewed the top of the contact case to see them sitting innocent into the saline solution. His mind was trying to put the pieces together but his sluggish thoughts weren’t coming to any reasonable conclusion as to why he could see perfectly without needing contacts or glasses.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” He paced back and forth in front of the mirror before he gave himself a shake. Without a second thought he placed his glasses back on his face and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. There was still no change to his vision but he felt a lot better with them on. He felt a lot less confused and reached over to flick the bathroom lights off.

Once they were off, he turned to go grab some clothes to change into. He hoped he had enough time to shower and get dressed before Nori got back. As Keenan left the bathroom he glanced at the mirror and his eyes were drawn back to his face. Panic fluttered in his chest and he let out a startled noise, stumbling back at what was staring back at him. It was him in the reflection, mimicking his movement as he panicked but the difference was his eyes. They weren’t hazel. They were pure black, pupils and sclera indistinguishable from each other.

Keenan backed up till he hit the wall behind him and he reached up without breaking eye contact, blindly seeking out the light switch. “It’s gotta be the lighting of the room.” He murmured again and again till he finally found the switch and flooded the room in light. Right before his eyes, a sight took place that had him pale face and trembling. He watched as the black bled out of his eye and shrink until they returned to his regular pupil size. 

“Heheheh. What the fuck...” If anyone could hear him now they would think he had lost his mind, the way he was staring at himself in the mirror, sniggering at his reflection. Keenan pulled on his cheek with a finger so the lower eyelid would open more and he rolled his eyes up to try and find where the blackness had gone. But there was nothing but white sclera and red veins. Nothing out of the ordinary stood out and that made him panic even more. “Where did it go?”

He couldn’t find it no matter how hard he searched and was desperately darting his vision around, looking for something, anything to explain what was wrong with him. His grip on his saline solution loosened at the sound of knocking at the front door. Knowing it was Nori, he simply called out ‘one second’ and returned to inspecting his eyes. Nothing. Still nothing.

There was a beep, followed by the clicking of heels in his room and he found himself rolling his eyes as he opened the bathroom door. Standing in the hallways looking far to innocent with two coffee cups was Nori. She was smiling as if she hadn’t just let herself into his room.

“Seriously, you have got to stop doing that.” He passed by her and grabbed some clothes from his suitcase, ignoring her grin as he slipped back into the bathroom to get changed. It looked like a shower was out of the question now.

“Doing what?” She called to him through the closed door.

“Breaking into my room.” Keenan pulled the white shirt he had picked out over his head and tugged the bottom. He nodded to himself satisfied with how he looked. He liked the simple rabbit mask that was printed on the front in red. It had been something Sam had gotten him. He tugged on a pair of khaki shorts, loving the idea of having so many pockets to his disposal and he opened the bathroom door to glare at his guide.

Nori just gave an innocent smile and giggled at his expression. “I have no idea what your talking about.” She walked up to the loveseats and sat down in one while Keenan continued to grab the last few things he needed before leaving. 

He strapped on his watch and grabbed his wallet, threatening his belt around his waist. Once was sure his phone was charged enough, he shoved that into his pocket as well and walked over to join his guide at his sitting area.

“Chamomile tea for me.” She took a sip of her cup before offered him his with a scrunched face. “And a dark, dark, dark roasted, blacker than the abyss itself, coffee for you.”

Keenan grinned and took it with a thankful look. The aroma alone did wonders on him and taking that first sip was like heaven on his senses. “Oh this is very good. Thank you, I needed this.”

There was a quiet moment shared between them before Keenan got her attention with a clearing of his throat. “Nori, can I ask you a strange question?”

“Nothings to strange of a question to me.” She piped back happily, gazing at him with a warm smile. “What’s your question champ?’

“Do you… see anything strange with my eyes?” Keenan’s face scrunched up in embarrassment as soon as the question fell from his lips and he shook his head. “You know what, never mind. It was a stupid question-”

His self deprecating words were cut off as his guide reached forward to take his chin with a cool hand. She rotated his head to face her and gave him a serious look. It was only the second time he had seen such an expression on her face and he stayed perfectly still as her gaze darted back and forth between both eyes, trying to look for something. After a long heavy silence, she hummed and let go of his chin. “Your eyes are a bit red.”

“Contacts.” He offered as a simple answer and watched as a thoughtful look crossed her features. “Is that all?”

“What exactly are you expecting me to say?” Nori inclined her head at him, a brow quirked in confusion.

“Nothing. It’s fine. Just woke up tired and thought I saw something..” Keenan swallowed heavily and bit down that nervous adrenaline building up again. He cleared his throat and looked away in an effort to change the subject. “So anyways. When are we leaving for the aviary?”

“The rental car is already out front waiting for us so we can leave at any time.” She reached into the breast pocket of her vest and produced a ring of keys, jingling them for good measure. “I’ll be driving us there so the travel to the aviary shouldn’t take too long. That will mean we have all day to explore and visit other places.” Nori cheered happily before taking another sip. She made a happy noise and glanced out the window at a school of tropical fish that passed by.

“Our car? So we’re not walking there?” Keenan inquired with a quirked brow. He followed her gaze before swallowing heavily at the sight of the deep darkness of the ocean. He had to look away as a coldness filled his veins.

Nori peered at him with a nod, shoving the keys back into her pocket. “Well, yes. I couldn’t possibly recommend us walking in this heat. Plus it would easily be an hour walk from here.”

Not if they took that hidden pathway that Jared and him had taken when they escaped from her earlier. He decided to keep that quiet musing to himself as the thought of Jared was causing a part of his chest to ache. He shrugged when she asked him if he was fine with that.

“The vehicle has been rented all day so we can go anywhere you please.” She beamed bright and happy, unaware of the inner turmoil going on inside Keenan’s head. “Maybe we can go up to the lookout point. It’s a great place to take pictures if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Keenan nodded at the suggestion, not really knowing any of the landmarks well enough to argue with her. Maybe it was time for him to chill and just let someone who actually was paid to guide him take over. After everything that had occurred so far, maybe that was just what he needed. Since it was apparent that Jared didn’t want to do anything else but sleep with him. He subconsciously ran his palm over where the red marks were as plain as day for anyone looking to see.

“We can grab some breakfast upstairs since the buffet is still open, check out the aviary and them have lunch at the Frosted Glass restaurant. I’ve asked them to reserve a seat.” At Keenan’s gaze, she flushed and backtracked. “Of course, we don’t have to go there today. I just knew that you liked sushi and thought you might enjoy the atmosphere there.”

Keenan smiled at her and nodded slowly. “It’s fine. Honestly anything you suggest sounds good to me.”

She opened her mouth with a devious expression on her face and he cut her off before she suggested what he assumed she was about to.

“Anything but scuba diving!”

“Damn..” She murmured over dramatically, the smirk on her face showed that she was far from bothered with him turning down that suggestion though. Nori stood up from her seat and collected her cup, draining the last little bit as she walked over to the door. “Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get you next time.”

Keenan shook his head at her and dropped his cup with hers inside the trash can. “Yeah no. You’re going to have to knock me out and forcefully shove me into the suit to get me to go.”

They exited the room and he pulled the door closed behind him till it made a click. Nori interlocked her fingers in front of her grinning face and started to walk backwards. “Now there’s a suggestion.”

He felt sweat bead at his brow at her words and his eye twitched. 

“Just kidding~”

Keenan walked past her and hit the button for the elevator. “Are you though? I can never really tell. I mean, you did break into my room while I was gone. I have no idea what you are capable of.” The elevator arrived shortly and the two stepped in and stood side by side. He gave a nervous look at the short woman next to him who took up a confident pose and started to laugh in an over the top way. He shook his head at the woman and was amused at the horrified expressions the other guests gave them at her villainous cackling.

“Okay, calm down there Skeletor. Your scaring the locals.” He laughed despite himself, seeing the irritation on the receptionists face. It was the same man that had checked him in when he first arrived on the island.

Nori just cackled even more, urged on by Keenan’s hand at her shoulder. “Fools! I am a local!” 

They passed by a group of tourists that looked familiar and Keenan was sure that was the woman from the beach party. The one that had a cooler of ice tipped on her head. She had her two sons with her and looked his way like she recognized him as well but after a moment, her gaze slipped away to eye a very expensive looking gift shop.

“Buffet is over her.” Keenan was more than happy to get pulled away from that and followed Nori into a beautiful lengthy hallway that was almost completely comprised of sandalwood. There were long seamless windows that started from the doorway and ended at the back wall where the open kitchen was. There were two long conference tables with dozens of chairs that lined either side of both of them. A couple of the seats were already occupied by people eating and the clinking of glasses were drowned out by the heavy hiss of one of the chefs flash frying something on a pan. 

Nori guided him up to the front of the kitchen where there was a table covered in silver caterware. The bunsen burners underneath kept everything steaming hot as they toured along side by side, grabbing things they liked and adding them to their plate. “Oh, these dumplings are great. They’re filled with shrimp.”

Taking her advice, Keenan grabbed a few and put them on his plate next to the mashed potatoes and steamed buns he had found. If his previous experiences were anything to go by, they would be full of deliciously spiced meat. There was a lot of food to pick from though, stuff he knew and others he didn’t recognize. They were only halfway along the line of containers and his plate was already full. 

“I’m going to start eating.”

Nori looked over her shoulder at him as he passed and Keenan noted her puffed out cheeks. She at least had the decency to look embarrassed at having been caught snacking and she swallowed before trying to speak. “Uh yeah. I’ll catch up.” She turned back to the chef on the other side of the table bring more food out to replace the empty container in front of her. He gave her a disapproving look but otherwise said nothing as he brought out more fish fillet.

Keenan was almost finished his food by the time she finally joined him with a heaping pile on her plate and looked over to see her brows raised at him. He took a mouthful of his drink and gave her a quizzical gaze.

“Almost finished already. Man, you really are hungry.”

He shrugged at that and only really felt that statement set in after his third trip up to the buffet table. His first plate had been a mixture of stuff he liked but once he got to the end of the buffet table, he found himself trying things he had never tried before. There was this fish that the chefs had brought out just as he got there and he was practically drooling as he piled a few slices on his plate. No one else came up for more so when he finished his previous serving, he came back for more.

The fish had big bones so they were easy to pick out and the meat just fell apart in his mouth. The chef claimed it was good with butter and that was such a horrible discovery for him because once he started dipping the pieces, he couldn’t get enough and found himself addicted to doing so with everything else on his plate.

Nori was still cracking open lobster claws and staring at him as he ate. She said nothing at his third plate of that fish but she did look worried.

Keenan leaned back and let out a long exhale, finally sated in a way he had never been before. He rubbed his stomach and glanced over finally seeing Nori’s raised brows for the first time. “What?”

“Nothing. Just never seen anyone eat that much angler before..”

He paused as his mind slowly put together what she was saying and his eyes slowly travelled down to his plate. He swallowed heavily and pointed down at it with his fork. “You mean-”

“Angler fish. You know, the things with the big teeth and the little light at the end of their heads?” She pressed the back of her wrist to her forehead and wiggled her fingers as she mimicked it. “They’re actually pretty good eating. The water is deep enough that we get them by the truckload.”

Keenan let out a nervous laugh and pushed the plate away with the tips of his fingers. “Great… and you wanted me to go scuba diving. With those things? No thanks.. I’m good. You know what, I’m beyond good. I’m great.”

‘“Oh don’t be a baby. You ate like six of them right there. You practically conquered your fear.” Nori took the nutcracker to the last piece of lobster on her plate and broke open the claw with a loud crack. She sucked the meat out, ignoring the horrified look on Keenan’s face as he realized that there were angler fish in the waters near his room. Almost like she could read his mind, she dabbed her mouth clean on a napkin and continued. “They are deep sea dwellers. Trust me, your room is far from deep enough to see any of them.”

He slowly nodded and gathered up his plate, stacking his napkin and cutlery on top to bring back to the catering table. There was a spot for dirty dishes to go and he rested his plate there before turning and startling at Nori grinning up at him. She was standing right behind him and he let out a long breath, saying nothing but pointing a threatening finger at her in warning. He had no idea why she always insisted on sneaking up on him but he was getting a bit tired of that song and dance.

Nori just giggled and put her plate on top of his before brushing off the front of her skirt. “Well that was filling. Shall we?” She retrieved the car keys from her vest pocket and twirled them on her index finger.

“Yeah. Bird conservatory?” He inquired, letting her lead since he had no idea where their vehicle would be parked. They walked out into the lobby and started back towards the elevators. Keenan rose an eyebrow at her but instead of stopping, they just kept walking. Further and further to the back of the hotel they got, passing by many rooms before reaching what looked like a back entrance.

Sure enough, parked in the roundabout without a driver was a beautiful silver car. Nori pressed a button on her keychain and the car made a beep, the headlights flashing once as the doors were unlocked. “Front or back?”

“I’ll sit in the front, thanks.” Keenan hopped in the front passenger seat, getting comfortable against the leather upholstery as his guide walked across the front of the car. He was glad that someone had the forethought of parking in the shade. He doubted leather in this heat would be a nice feeling on his skin. The driver side door opened and Nori got in. She adjusted the rearview mirror with a grumble before pulling on her seatbelt. 

She gave him a long look and Keenan flushed as he realized what she wanted. He pulled on his as well and stared back once the clasp made a click. That seemed to satisfy Nori because she started the ignition and after the engine let out a purr, she shifted into gear and began to turn out of the roundabout. “After how much you ate at the buffet, I doubt you’ll be hungry enough to go to Frosted Glass but we’ll see.”

The drive was pretty fast and Keenan quietly mourned being able to just walk around and make his own path. He missed walking around the villages and talking to all the people he met. Driving from place to place really took the life out of the vacation experience but a part of him couldn’t argue with the fact that he was in a nice air conditioned environment if only for awhile. 

His sigh draw Nori’s attention and she glanced at him momentarily before turning her eyes back to the dirt path they drove on. “What’s wrong?”

Keenan shrugged and leaned back in his seat. He bit back the truth on his tongue and settled for an easy answer. She didn’t need to know how much he missed walking hand in hand with Jared, uncaring of how long they took. “Can’t believe I ate so much..”

“You ate like a man starved in the desert.” She giggled, one hand driving as the other raised to her mouth. “Do you mainlanders always eat like that or is it just you? Then again from how tall you are, I can only guess.” Nori gave him a critical look like she was trying to assess how many calories he required in his diet.

“Jesus, please keep your eyes on the road.”

She laughed again but did as he asked. “Don’t be a baby. We’ve just arrived.”

True to her words, they pulled up in front of the large glass ball structure that he had seen in the distance yesterday but never got to go to. The building looked like a golf ball with each dot being a section of hexagonal glass that formed the shape. There was another small rectangular structure attached to the front that looked like it served as the entrance and had a giant tucan drawn on the billboard overhead. 

“Peek’s Bird Conservatory.” Keenan read out loud as Nori pulled the car into a sparsely populated parking lot. He undid his seatbelt once she removed the key from the ignition and hopped out to get a better look. He was a few steps away when he heard the telltale beep of the car being locked and Nori was a his side with a little skip. “Who’s Peek?”

“Peek was one of the original founders of the conservatory. He found a lot of endangered species from all over the world and brought them here, slowly introducing them to a new environment before starting a breeding program to help get their numbers back up again. He passed away years ago but the business still runs in the family.” She explained happily, running a hand through her curls and vest to try and make herself look decent. Her face was a little red and she stopped at the front door to look at Keenan. “How do I look?”

“Good?” He answered slowly.

“Good? Just good?” She pressed on with a quirked brow. 

Keenan shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” Before Nori could argue, he raised a hand to his brow and pinched it in irritation. He passed by her and started to push the door open. “You look fantastic. Why does it even matter?”

He finished the motion of opening the door and entering the structure before she could argue and he looked back to see her more flustered than she usually was. In fact, she looked almost fidgety. He was about to inquire as to what was wrong but heard a voice call out from further in the building.

“Oh hey Nori! You’re back.”

Keenan turned around immediately to see a tall blonde haired woman sitting behind the front desk with something in her hands. The entire room was filled with the usual rows of ticket admissions and pictures of birds that could be seen within were painted on every wall. He glanced down at the floor to see different coloured bird prints that went further into the building.

The young woman set down whatever she had been fiddling with and gave a cheerful wave, getting up from her seat to walk around the table. She smiled over at Nori before looking at Keenan. “Ah, you must be the wandering willow she spoke of.”

Keenan looked back and forth between the two women, noting the pink creeping up on Nori’s face. He gave her a devious grin and she looked at him panicked before she squeaked out a response to the woman in front of the desk.

“Keenan, this is Silvia. She is Peek’s granddaughter. She runs the conservatory and is one of the most talented bird keepers I know.”

Silvia let out a happy laugh and her ponytail bobbed at the motion. She scratched at the bridge of her nose, grinning wide. “Well, there’s me and my brother. He’s a bit more… intense on the whole training thing. I just look after the babies.” She adjusted the pair of heart shaped sunglasses that kept her bangs out of her eyes, her warm gaze never leaving Nori for a second.

“Right!” Nori laughed as well but her was more lengthy in her embarrassment. At Keenan’s gentle elbow, she brought it to an end with a nervous clearing of her throat. “Well, we’re here to see the birds so-”

“Well you came to the right place. We have birds aplenty here.” The two girls laughed again like it was the most hilarious thing ever and Keenan almost facepalmed right there. 

And he thought he was bad at romance. Seeing other people fail just as badly at him when it came to crushing on people made him feel a lot better about his situation. While he was amused at how Nori was acting, he realised that if he didn’t do something, they would just be here all day. “Yeah… Can we go in?”

Silvia startled out of whatever daze she had been in and looked away from Nori like she noticed him for the first time. “Oh right. That’s what your here for.” She made a gesture and adjusted her sunglasses again before turning to go back behind the counter again. “Let me grab the bracelets.”

Keenan followed her to the counter and ignored the sharp elbow he got from Nori. As much as he felt bad for interrupting their romantic moment, he’d rather be inside instead of just hanging in the front foyer. He gave her a critical look once they were at the desk and tried to get his point across as decretely as he could. “Yes, just for me though.”

“Are you sure?” Silvia asked holding up two pink paper bracelets. She looked between the two of them.

Nori looked at Keenan confused. “Yeah, why are you..”

“Well, I don’t intend on staying long.” He tried to portray what he was saying through his eyes as he spoke. “And you can stay here in the lobby.. You know, with Silivia. I won’t be long. I promise.”

Her eyes lit up and her ears burned as she realized what he was doing. “O-ooh..”

Silivia, thankfully, didn’t seem to come to the same realization and was still holding both bracelets. She had one in each hand and was waving them back and forth as she waited for an answer. “Well?”

“You know what, Keenan is right.” Nori spat out in a nervous little tone. She laughed before continuing, waving her hand in front of her face. “I’ll just wait here for him. No biggie.”

“Besides, you two can catch up.” Keenan added to her point, extending his wrist out for Silvia. 

She wrapped the bracelet around his wrist and made sure it was tight enough that he couldn’t slip off. “Alright, if you insist.” She took the extra bracelet and set it on the table next to what she had been holding earlier. There was a small piece of wood with shavings all around it and a little black box full of wood carving tools. Keenan was drawn from his observations when Silvia offered him a pamphlet.

“Here, this details all the little feathery friends you’ll see inside. The footprints symbolize paths to different parts of the conservatory.” She indicated with an index finger to the map once he unfolded it to its full size. “Blue heron prints lead to the bathroom. Green seagull prints lead to the teahouse. It’s under construction so you can’t go in but you can take a look at it.”

Keenan nodded as he made mental notes on all the other sections. This place looked rather big from the outside and was even bigger on the inside now. “Can I take pictures?”

Silvia grinned that same grin he saw the water kiosk lady made and almost swore under his breath. “Why yes sir. We have a lovely range of camera here. Of course you could use your own but why use a regular old phone camera when you can get stunning shots with our professional cameras?” She pulled out one of those large bulky cameras that had the huge lense on the front and started to talk about it but he lifted a hand and shook his head.

“I appreciate the offer but I think I’ll stick with my ‘regular old’ phone camera, thank you.”

Silvia pouted but said nothing else, tucking it back under the counter. “Fair enough. If you change your mind, you’ll know where to find me.”

Keenan glanced behind him and saw Nori having a literally freak out behind SIlvia’s back. She was red faced and running her fingers through her hair again and again like she had no idea what to do with her hands. She gave him a panicked look and he had to fight the urge to cackle madly at her. Karma was a cruel mistress and no one was going to get her out of this situation, especially not him. He threw her a two fingered salute and smiled at Silvia as he passed her by. 

Behind the front desk was the entry to the conservatory and he could already hear the calls of both familiar and unfamiliar birds in the distance. He walked down the hall and eventually got so far along that the walls just downright disappeared, being replaced by waist high railings. Keenan leaned his weight on one of those railings and peeked over the side to see that the pathway he was on started to curve into itself until it spiraled down a few feet. There was a grass clearing in the middle with two park benches and a single tree in the centre that grew so high the tallest branches were at eye level. 

He heard a shuffling in those branches and peered in to see a small black bird hop out. It was about the side of a canary and hopped along the branch till it reached the closest it could to him without being touched. There was another ruffle and another bird joined and another and another. There were seven in total with dark feathers and bright red beaks. They nuzzled close to each other and peeped in Keenan’s direction with strange glossy grey eyes. Seeing an opportunity, he pulled out his phone and took a picture of them as they all glanced in his direction. 

He was overjoyed at clear the shot was and took a few more just cause. He would have wasted more time taking pictures of just those seven birds but a part of his mind was eager to find more to take pictures of. He was feeling that thrill again, that same freedom he felt when he was walking through a village without a care in the world. Keenan felt a little silly but only a little when he cooed at them and gave a little wave as he kept going down the curving down path. He watched them dart around the branches as they tried to keep up with him but eventually he reached the bottom where there was a tunnel that extended behind the tree. There was light at the end and a shadow fluttered across the front of it in a flurry of brightly coloured feathers.

Keenan was walking around the base of the tree, following the red sparrow tracks on the floor that were marked ‘inner sanctum’ on his map. His quick reflexes were probably what stopped him from stepped on the large squawking bird that ran out from behind the tree and starting making irate noises at him. It had the long neck of a goose but bore the plumage of a flightless bird. It’s wings were short but made up for that with big feet that looked meant for running. The bird looked at him with reptilian yellow eyes and made several more annoyed honks before running past him and taking off up the ramp.

“Uh ok. Bye?” Keenan was confused at the interaction and watched it run till it was out of sight. He could still hear the pitter patter of its feet on the floor for a few more seconds before even those faded out. Seeing that it wasn’t going to be coming back anytime soon, he shrugged and returned to what he was doing before he had been jumped by a brightly coloured goose.

He went through the tunnel and exited into what almost felt like a new world. There were paved paths that curved left and right but the entire centre was comprised of grass and trees. There were bushes and flowers of shapes and sizes that he had only ever seen in movies. So bright and vivid that he almost mistaken them for movie set pieces. It seriously felt like he had walked into a new world and the only thing that gave away that he was inside a building was the glass dome overhead. He stared up at it in quiet contemplation, wondering how they managed to keep the bird from flying into the windows before his attention was pulled away at the sound of cooing doves.

Sitting on a wooden sign that had been hammered into the grass were two mourning doves. They were puffed up in big round balls and were sitting pressed against each other, their foreheads pressed together as they slumbered. Keenan took a step closer and they looked up at him with dark eyes but otherwise didn’t seem shaken by him approaching. They weren’t easily spooked like wild bird and watched him as he made the slow motions of aiming his phone at them for a picture. After taking his picture, he grinned up at the two of them and took that moment to read what was written on the sign.

“Please, feel free to go on the grass.” He laughed and shook his head at that, taking up that offer with gusto. He didn’t mind viering off the path to get lost in an inner sanctum of birds. Any opportunity to get some good pictures was a good one in his books. 

Him going off the path proved to be the best idea he had all day. Well, the second best. The first one was allowing Nori to take him here finally. While a part of him was sad he hadn’t been able to experience this with a certain redhead, he tried to not let it affect him too much. He walked along the brush and snapped pictures here and there as colour birds hooted and hollered all around him. After a bit of walking, the humidity started to sink into his shirt and he rubbed his face with his forearm. As much as he wanted to get some pictures of the ducks hanging out at the edge of the pond but he wasn’t going to risk passing out from the heat. The inner sanctum was nice but he couldn’t stay for too long so he pulled out his map again and decided to find that tea house that was past the next hallway. 

Silvia had told him that it was under construction but the picture in the pamphlet was breathtaking with two peacocks curled up at the vine covered staircase and he wanted to get a picture of it himself. He gave one last glance over his shoulder to make sure he was going the right way, catching a flash of gold as a goldfinch darted by him and disappeared into a nearby bush. He was grinning from ear to ear and couldn’t hold in his joyful laugh as he walked into the next hall. This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He couldn’t wait to show Sam all these pictures he took.

He stepped into another rounded room, this one with a filtered ceiling. It made a space a bit darker to traverse. Not enough that he couldn’t see but judging from the different types of birds he was seeing, the dim lighting was for their benefit, not his. The lip entering the room went down a step and changed to a pebble covered ground. There were rocks of various shapes and sizes that had indents formed into their towering statutes and they provided high vantage points for the nocturnal birds to nest in.

Keenan took a picture of the whole layout of the room and was bewildered as a thought came to mind. This entire place led up to one central boulder in the middle that housed a grandiose looking structure on top. There was no easy pathway to spot. Instead it looked like square cut rocks had been positioned to form a variety of natural paths that went up to the vine covered teahouse. The entire place looked like a parkour runners wet dream. He could only imagine what some of his friends back home would do if they were here right now.

Storing his phone in his back pocket to free up his hands, Keenan wiped off his sweaty palms on his shorts and began the tactical climb upwards. He tried to keep to what he assumed was the pathway meant to be taken by people but it was hard to tell when the men made railings sticking up from the rocks were far and few between. He couldn’t complain too much though, they made the climb a bit easier and served as good points for him to take a break. As he got near the top he noticed a sturdily built but vine covered fence surrounding a hole that plummeted down into the belly of the rock. 

“Whoa..” Keenan peered over the side to see that the water coming from under the teahouse was disappearing into the hole. Mist came up from the dark hole and the faint light hitting it reflected a rainbow across it like a laser show in a smokey dance club. He tried to capture it on his camera and chewed his lower lip as it just couldn’t capture the refraction properly. After a few shots, he gave up with a click of his tongue and decided to finish his trek up to the teahouse.

He hopped the last two rocks and stopped in front of the vine covered stairwell that led up to a doorway covered in yellow tape. On closer inspection, he noted that the wooden stairs were not wrapped in vines at all, they were made of them. Someone had nurtured and grew them to take the shape of each step. It was something he had seen on tv when he was younger. There were people that spent their entire lives dedicated to weaving and growing trees, some even making large expansive bridges that attached different hills together. Keenan hummed at the sight, wondering if that practice was native to this island or if it was one that multiple cultures shared.

Even though the steps were made of old vines, they were sturdy as he took them up to the front porch of the teahouse. Keenan tilted his head at the sight of the yellow tape on the doorway. He lifted the torn piece in his hand and read ‘Caution, under construction’ printed across it. Well, whoever tore the tape down didn’t heed that warning. He shook his head already assuming who would probably do something like that. “Fucking tourists..”

He snapped a few pictures of the teahouse as he walked around the outside perimeter before he ended up at the front doorway again. It was dark on the inside and he couldn’t see anything except beyond a foot in. There was a lavish carpet that looked like it would be laid out normally from the state of how dirty it was, he could only assume that the teahouse had been under construction for a long while.

Keenan wanted to go inside but fought that urge tooth and nail, not wanting to be that idiot who broke the rules and got kicked out because of it. He usually left that sort of thing to his friends. A thought came to mind though and he flicked his phone on. He might be able to get some good pics from here if he turned on his flash. Keenan grimaced to himself as he did so, hoping that doing so would not startle any of the nocturnal birds in the room.

Strangely enough, the room had gotten very quiet. Aside from the sound of rushing water, he didn’t hear anything else. There were bird cries or flapping of wings anymore. They had been so active when he originally walked in, fluttering from rock to rock. Now there was nothing. Keenan bit back a cold chill that went down his spine and chalked it up to the sweat cooling on his skin.

He lifted his camera and took a picture of the inside of the room and was immediately greeted to a sight that one would see in a horror movie. The room was devoid of any furniture but the centre of the wooden floor had a dark stain in the middle. There were feathers scattered every which way but even worse was what was in the centre. Keenan didn’t need to take another picture to have him turning and bolting down the stairs. 

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck….”

He heaved out a weak cry and started to jog down the stairs trying to blink out the image burned into his head. A man on all four, peering up at him through dark bangs, eyes lit up a glowing blue by the flash of the camera. He almost tripped in his hurry and caught himself on one railing, palms stinging as they made contact with the old metal. The man looked gaunt, with a shallow gaze and a red stained maw. Feathers and blood dripping down in bubbling streams as he was caught on camera.

Keenan had to get away from whatever he had just seen. He had to warn Nori, he had to tell Silvia. There was no way they were aware of a crazed man living in their old teahouse. His feet finally met the pebbled ground and he stumbled as he peered behind him. There was a bloody hand reaching out from within and he yelped as his chest made contact with something hard in front of him.

“Oh fuck.” He felt arms wind around his shoulders and he tried to pull away but they maintained their grip. His panic was growing and his heart thudded heavily in chest, like a bird trying to escape its cage. “No. Let me go. Let me go.”

“Keenan, calm down. It’s me.” A familiar voice called to him and after a few more seconds of squirming, he risked peeking up to see red hair. Jared was holding him and staring down at him with a worried expression. “Jesus.. What’s wrong? You almost knocked me over.”

Keenan was terrified and could only manage broken sentences between short intakes of breath. His heart was beating crazily and he glanced up at Jared, still panicking.

“You need to take a few deep breaths. I can’t understand you.”

“No time. He’s coming.” Keenan managed to choke out, trying to peer behind him. The arms still wrapped around his shoulders didn’t really allow that much movement but he trusted that if the bloodied man was approaching, Jared would him coming.

Jared rested his chin on top of his head. “What are you talking abo-” His voice trailed off and his body tensed as he must have caught sight of what he had seen. “Oh for fucks sake… What have you done now?” 

Keenan expected him to react but not like that. Not in the way that he just did. He expected the anger but the way it was directed was more like a parent chiding a child for taking a cookie out of the cookie jar without asking. He looked over to see the figure now on the pebbled floor as well but before he could get a better look at the red smeared male, Jared pulled away from embracing him and put himself between the two of them.

“Jared, watch out.” He called out but it was all for nothing. His eyes went wide as the redhead took a protective stance but not in front of him. Instead he stepped in front of the other figure and covered his appearance by his tall stature. There was gently mumble of conversation from the bloodied figure and Jared huffed out a sigh, turning to face Keenan. He extended his arms slightly to help hide the male from view. “What.. I don’t understand.”

Jared had a frustrated crease in his brow and his eyes darted around before settling on Keenan. He didn’t seem bothered by the bloodied hands that gripped either side of his shirt. “I’m sorry you had to find Andrew like this. He panics and runs off whenever he gets nosebleeds.”

“Nosebleeds?!” Keenan made and incredulous noise and pointed at the teahouse. “No no no.. That’s not what I saw. There were dead birds.. Like, a lot of dead birds.”

Jared’s eyes narrowed more and the boy, Andrew tightened his grip till they were balled into fists. “No, I assure you. It’s not like that.” His voice tried to take on a more convincing tone but Keenan was far from being persuaded. How could he expect him to believe him when the man behind him still had blood and feathers stuck to his skin.

“I don’t believe you!” Keenan’s voice got louder as panic started to set in again. His hands were shaking at his side and he started to back up, ready to bolt on a moments notice if need be.

“What is going on here?” Another voice chimed in behind him and Keenan turned to see Tanner there. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and his hands were in his jeans pockets. He was looking back and forth, eyes calculating as he tried to assess the situation before him.

Now with his exit cut off, Keenan was running out of options. He backed himself against the hallway and splayed his palms against the cool surface, eyes darting back and forth like a cornered animal. He knew Jared was strong and going two on one especially with someone who was covered in blood was not something he wanted to do. Plus, he wasn’t sure if there were any exits further into the teahouse room. He wasn’t about to risk being cornered.

Now Tanner on the other hand was just one person. He was shorter than him and from what he had seen, was more frail and prone to sickness. He could probably get past him and away from this whole crazy situation. It wasn’t a sound plan but it was the best he could come up with in a moments notice. 

Keenan had no idea what was going on but if Jared was willing to defend someone who had been killing and eating birds for no reason, he wasn’t sure if he could trust him. The man was still a mystery to him and he really didn’t know much about him aside from what he had shared and that information had been very minimal. Keena wasn’t confident that he was going to let him go without injury. Jared’s words rang true in his ears. He did say that he was dangerous.

“Fuck, Tanner! Watch out! He’s going to bolt!” Jared managed to yell out just as Keenan did so. 

He ducked left and Tanner followed the motion. He used that feight to move to his other side, hoping to get past him as he heard footsteps behind him. Keenan managed to get out of the man’s grip but his jostling motion was not good on his footwear. His flip flops were not meant for this sort of movement and it slipped on the floor. He stumbled a few steps and while he tried to follow through with the motion, hoping to recover from the slip, his hopes died away as a hand clasped around his collar.

Keenan let out a choked gag as he was pulled back into Tanner’s embrace. The man wound an arm around his neck and pulled him back into a tight hold. He refused to let go even as Keenan began squirming and shouting for help. “Shut up Keenan. No one is going to come.”

He refused to believe that and continued to struggle, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as Jared entered his vision. The man stared at him with a sad frown, giving him a tormented grimace. He looked almost like he was in more pain that he was. There was a moment where their eyes met and he spoke, quiet and flat. “I’m so sorry about this Keenan. I didn’t want you to get more involved than you had to.” Tanner made a frustrated noise at that but didn’t speak as a glare was directed his way from the redhead. 

“Tanner, you’re better at this than me. Please…” There was an unspoken sentence that hung in the air that only the two of them seemed to understand and they both gave a mutual nod. The boy made a noise behind Jared’s back and he reached behind him to pat him reassuringly.

“Right. Take Andrew home. I’ll be back after I’m done here.” Keenan teared up even more at Tanner’s words. He had no idea what the man meant but it certainly had something to do with him. Terror filled his heart as he assumed the worst. He was going to die here. Oh god, he was going to die here. He watched with teary eyes as Jared turned away and walked hand in hand with the short brunette.

Keenan tried to kick out and was surprised at how strong the man’s grip on him was. “Please, whatever I did.. Whatever I saw, I won’t tell anyone. I promise. I don’t want to die.”

“Relax. I’m not going to kill you.” Tanner sighed, calm as a cucumber. His eyes had the same cold, calculating look in them. They looked exactly the same as the time he inquired about his relationship with Jared. 

Keenan felt his nerves settle at those words but his heart only seemed to pick up. It was beating heavily in his chest, like a bird caught in the claws of a predatory. He may have gone limp but it was in the same way that a possum pretended to be dead. If he acted like he was calming down then maybe he’d get an opportunity to escape. “Really?” He asked, tone higher pitched in worry.

“I just want you to relax, okay? Can you do that for me? Relax and the two of us can talk.”

Keenan waited a heartbeat of a second before slowly nodded. He didn’t want Tanner to hurt him and in the back of his mind, his reasoning was sound. Maybe the two of them could talk things out and maybe he could get answers for once. He had been hanging on the promise that eventually Jared would explain things to him but he never did.

“Now, I’m going to let you go. Stay here. Don’t run away.” Tanner’s voice was still soft but it carried a cold undertone to it. It felt less like a friendly suggestion and more like an order that Keenan felt like he had to follow even if he didn’t want to. It was cold and had his limbs locking up. They refused to obey him and his plans to play possum went out the window. Tears welled in his eyes as he realized that he was trapped. It was worst than sleep paralysis because he knew that it wouldn’t just last a few seconds. It wasn’t wearing off in the least..

The man unwound the arm he had around his neck and crawled out from behind him. “Just relax. We’re only going to talk.” He spoke as he moved to squat in front of Keenan, his eyes looking so strange. The pupils were all wrong, too sharp and slitted. The light reflecting from the hall made them look strange and… off. 

Something tickled the back of Keenan’s head as a memory came to mind. A memory of tapping on glass and yellow lights reflected back at him… 

No. 

He looked up and for the first time, he saw what was hidden in Tanner’s gaze. Yellow, pupiless, glowing. They weren’t lights. They were sharp looking eyes, glowing just like the ones he saw under the water. Keenan felt his veins go cold as the memory of those blurry features that had been so hard to define came back to him.

It had been Tanner. He had been under the water, tapping on the outside of the glass with a devious grin on his face as he did so. The man seemed to take great pleasure in watching him squirm and freak out over the fact that he was swimming around without a care in the world.

“That’s right. Let’s talk about what you saw. Just a nosebleed...” Tanner’s voice was like the slow rocking of a boat. It was like a lullaby trying so hard to pull at something in the back curtain of Keenan’s head. Unfortunately for the two of them, when he reached blindly with a coaxing hand, the thing hidden back there lashed out angrily and bite back.

“N̙̦̗͈͓͔̝ ͔̳ͥ̐̔͛͟O̾͒̋ͧ "

Keenan jolted like he had been doused in cold water and he recoiled till he was crawling backwards on his hands and knees. Once he was a good distance away he got up on his feet and swayed on tired legs. He balanced himself using the wall and glared at Tanner, pointing at him with an accusing finger. “What the fuck did you just try to do to me!?!”

Tanner looked for the first time ever, panicked. He got up as well and raised his hands in a calming manner. He looked like he was still trying to rile a beast despite his earlier attempt being a failure. “Keenan please.. You need to calm-” 

The words were like honey but they were too sweet on his nerves and Keenan shook his head once to clear them away before they fogged his thoughts again. He looked up at Tanner and snarled, deep in his throat. He punched the wall next to him hard enough that his knuckles stung from the impact. “STOP. DOING THAT!”

“You’re too far along. It doesn’t affect you anymore.” Tanner whispered more to himself than anything but Keenan still heard it. He was glancing around nervously like he was attempting to seek an escape now but there was no way Keenan was going to let him get away without getting the answers he deserved from him.

He pushed off from the wall and lunged at Tanner, grabbing a handful of his shirt. They both tumbled to the ground and rolled a few times along the hallway. Tanner put up a struggle but Keenan’s anger overpowered the man and he ended up on top of his stomach, pinned him with his weight. His hands curled deeper into the front of his shirt and slamming him into the floor. 

The man groaned as his head connected with the hard surface and he looked up, yellow eyes still glowing but unfocused. Tanner’s breath came out in choked pants as Keenan continued to force his weight down to keep him from getting any funny ideas like attempt that weird hypnosis of his. “What do you mean by ‘doesn’t affect me anymore’? What have you been doing to me!?! Is this why I can’t remember things?”

Tanner was dazed and couldn’t manage anything but a desperate stumbling grab in his direction. His hand reached up weakly to grab at Keenan’s wrist but his motion ceased as a sound filled the air. His fingers trembled and his eyes went wide, the yellow glow ceasing immediately.

Both of them went still at the sound. It had no point of origin and was nowhere but everywhere at the same time. Keenan recognized it immediately and from the now alert and panicked expression on Tanner’s face, he did as well. It was the sound of whale songs. That sound seemed to come hand in hand with one person that he had met on numerous occasions.

Baba Yaga.

“That’s enough, little one.” Keenan was beyond livid and that voice that had once had him queasy and weak did nothing more than make the anger inside him grow. He snarled like a wild beast and let go of Tanner to take his rage out on the old woman.

She was standing there flanked on either side by two villagers that he didn’t recognize. Three on one wasn’t good odds but something inside him was coiled so tightly in his chest that it was close to snapping. Like a violin thread, he was going to go down clawing with tooth and nail if he had to. “You gotta lot of nerve showing your face here! After the things you did to me, I think it’s time for a little payback.” Keenan had no idea where the confidence was coming from but it helped steady his nerves as he let of Tanner and let him slip from his grip.

The two men at her side looked nervous but the woman was unfazed. In fact, her creased face curled up in a grin. Her yellow teeth were on full display as she had the audacity to laugh at him. “My oh my, you really woke up fighting, didn’t you?”

“You think this is funny? All I wanted was a nice vacation and all you’ve been doing is torturing me endlessly.” Keenan stood at his full height and his confidence peaked more at how much taller he was compared to Baba.

Babe tapped her cane on the ground a few times as she listened to him yet at her but her smile didn’t go away, instead it seemed to grow till it was almost splitting her face in half. “Marvelous.” She complimented even as the two men at her side started to back up in fear. They had terror in their eyes as they seemed to find something in Keenan’s gaze that had them glancing back and forth like they were second guessing the reason they were there. 

Keenan didn’t like the feeling of her eyes on him and a shiver went up his spine like the hackles of a cats fur going up in aggression. He sneered and bared his teeth at her, not happy with her condescending words. “You think it’s funny to taunt me?!”

“Oh, little one. It’s not a taunt. It’s the truth.” Baba took a full step forward, walking into the storm that was Keenan’s anger without an ounce of fear. Her expression didn’t shift once as she grew closer and closer.

Keenan inhaled and opened his mouth, his lungs seething with an anger that boiled deep inside him. It wanted to spill out unrestrained in his words and leave the woman just as scalded as she had left him during their first meeting. She had left him chilled to the bone when she had spoken to him, not it was his turn to exact his revenge.

“Silence.” She interrupted before he could even speak up and her words had his mouth snapping shut against his will. 

He couldn’t talk, his mouth and vocal cords rebelling against his every order. Tears gathered in his eyes at the ridiculousness of the whole situation and he clawed at his lips for several seconds before he settled for glaring at her. Keenan heard Tanner get up behind him and tilted his head to glare at him. He dared the other to speak with his gaze and the man shivered physically under the weight of his look.

Tanner diverted his gaze and turned to look at Baba. She tapped her cane again in response and without any words having to be said between them, he bowed ever so slightly and took two steps back. Tanner gave Keenan one last fearful look before he swallowed heavily and disappeared further into the teahouse room. 

Baba stepped up to Keenan and grabbed his chin with a gnarled hand. “You are such a prudent child, still so young and clueless. You’ve barely come into your power and already you’re baring your teeth.” She cackled to herself as Keenan pulled away from her cold touch and sneered no sound feel from his lips. His tongue still felt heavy like lead. 

He hated the grate of her words on his ears but a part of him could feel that what she was saying was true. There was a coiling heat inside him like a lion pacing in its cage waiting to be let out. It was in the heat at his brow, the clenching of his fist and the snarl on his lips. He couldn’t speak but he made his anger known by a shove that had her stumbling backwards a step.

The two men standing on either side of Baba came forward to grab at him but their movement was stilled again as she slammed her cane on the ground. Like dogs, they came to heel at her sides after a step and looked back at her awaiting another order. She ran a hand down the front of her long woven dress like she was brushing imaginary dirt off and clicked her tongue at Keenan. 

“I’ve waited for what felt like an eternity for this day. I sought countless others out, felt their call and drew them here only to end up disappointed time and time again.“ She reached up and patted under the chin of the man on her left. His eyes glazed over momentarily before they shifted back to their natural brown shading. “But you’re different than the rest of them.”

Baba came close to Keenan again but instead of touching him this time, she settled for pacing him. With slow measured steps, she came off more as a shark that had caught the scent of blood. She circled him as she spoke mostly out loud. “For so long I thought I was the last but now I understand. Now I see why I felt the call for so long.”

Baba stopped in front of him and her brows lifted ever so slight, allowing him to see those shocking blue eyes. They were cold like ice and froze the blood in his veins at the sight. 

Keenan was disturbed as whatever was inside him snarled more and he felt the overbearing need to tear her throat out with his teeth. His legs wobbled and he grabbed his head, trying to calm the echoing growl within. Tears started to gather in his eyes and he fell to his knees, holding his head. “You’re not like those pups you so easily threw yourself in with. You are just like me…”

“Now awake to your true power.” Her voice became warbled and warped like the ripple of a water's surface being broken by a skipping stone. “Wake up, Leviathan.”

***


	7. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello?” Nori stared off and tapped her toe as the person on the other line spoke to her. Slowly the tapping stopped and her face paled. There was a long pause and her expression shifted as the seconds ticked by, becoming horrified. She looked up at Keenan and her hand trembled as she hung up. 
> 
> “It’s started…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit guys, I'm bout to break 100k words.

Keenan felt the world spin around him and the ground came rushing up to meet him. The air felt cold and heavy on his limbs like he was struggling through the cold slush of a half frozen lake. As he tumbled forward, he hit the ground but unlike the hard surface that he expected, he broke through it like water and the cold forced the air out of his lungs. Bubbled fell from parted lips and floated upwards, the only glimmer of light in a completely black expanse. 

He tried to gasp for air and was surprised when he didn’t feel the stinging knives of cold water filling his lungs. His chest rose and fell naturally with every breath he took and it confused him momentarily as he fell deeper into the darkness. Keenan leaned further back and the acceleration of the fall picked up. He continued to descend till he was falling at a speed that had his ears popping from the pressure. His mouth was open in a silent cry as he plummeted in endless darkness.

Keenan looked above his head to see something standing out against the stark blackness of the ocean. He was falling closer to it and as he got closer and closer, the features started to become more and more defined. Something whipped by Keenan’s head and he saw a pair of glasses floating upwards, untethered to the gravity of the ocean. They looked familiar but he didn’t have time to associate from where as the figure beneath him grew closer. 

His breath stuttered as he recognized the form that was plummeting, bubbles rising from their parted lips. Their hands were raised up as if trying to grab at something no longer there and Keenan felt a pull towards the ten year old that looked exactly like him. He reached forward and took his younger self’s hand. There was a flash of warmth shared between the two of them like static and Keenan let out a shocked exhale as the other ‘Keenan’ opened his eyes and they looked up at him, black and pupiless.

It all made sense to him now. Keenan had no idea how but it did. The younger version of him smiled like he hadn’t a care in the world and did a slow backflip under the water, parting their hands. He watched with bated breath as he swam deeper and deeper, his legs kicking strongly as he moved into the depths below. Keenan continued to peer around him trying to catch sight of the ten year old but didn’t see anything for a long time. 

A deep sound of mourning fell from Keenan’s lips as he continued to glance around. He couldn’t see a thing one second and then the next, the boy darted upward like a rocket. He was kicking his legs fiercely with a look of determination on his face. Keenan could feel that infectious sense of pride and grinned, rolling onto his back to look in the direction that he assumed was were the surface was. The fracture of darkness shattered as he broke the surface but unlike water, it cracked and splintered like glass. Shards fell all around him of all shapes and sizes and a large piece the size of a mirror almost hit him on the way down. He darted out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit and saw himself in the reflection.

His hair and eyes were darker than pools of ink. He looked far too pale in the darkness of the water but that brought the ridges of the diamond shaped brandings on his shoulders out. The piece of glass came and went far to fast for him to acknowledge any other changes but his hands were already seeking over what he had seen. There was a raise to his skin that went up the curve of his shoulders and ended symmetrically just at the nape of his neck. He scratched at the itch irritation and hissed at the feel of something pulling loose under his nails. It was like dried skin from being under the sun for far too long but far too thick and waxy to be natural. Something under the layer felt smooth and he tried to place where he had felt this scaly feeling before but the memories fell short. 

Keenan saw another larger pieces of obsidian falling towards him, sharp and dangers and took a frightened deep breath as it came bearing down on him. He choked out the taste of copper and shot up from his laid down position. 

His motion was halted roughly by something enclosed around each wrist and his shoulders burned from the strain before he collapsed again. His eyes were dazed and unfocused as he struggled to breath, his chest heaving with every inhale. The sheets around him billowed at the movement and he slowly associated the feeling with being in bed and yet, even though there was a pillow underhead, he couldn’t move his arms that appeared to be bound overhead.

“Wha..?” His words were slurred and his arms could only lift a few feet up before the ropes were pulled taut against the headboard. Keenan looked around the room that was sparse of all other furniture except for an occupied chair where a villager was sleeping. Or at least he had been till Keenan’s struggling woke him up. The man jolted up and seeing him pulling at his bindings, opened the bedroom door to yell out to someone.

“He’s awake.” There was a few seconds of distant muffling before another villager joined the first and they both stood in the bedroom to assess the situation. “What do we do?”

The second man stroked his chin in thought and hummed. “Baba told us to inform her when he woke up. But I don’t think now is a good time.”

Keenan pulled at the ropes again and gave them a glare, a look of disbelief on his face. “Why am I tied to a bed? What is going on here?!?” He was ignored for the most part as the two men continued to talk like he wasn’t even there. That pissed him off even more.

“Is she dealing with the lion right now?”

“Trying to.” The second man scoffed, meeting Keenan’s angry gaze before looking away again. “He’s not exactly making it easy to track him down. Him and his two friends.”

Something in what they were saying clicked in his head and Keenan finally realized who they were talking about. A searing anger built up in his chest and a growl fell from his sneered lips as he strained against the ropes. They were digging deeper into his skin but the pain was nothing but a faint pressure compared to the wrath that was bubbling over from every pore on his body. How dare they bind him down. How dare they ignore him. How dare they hurt…

“J͌ͥͥ ̓̄A̦̣͖̱̮͕̼ͤ̚̚ ̗͈̊̀R̼̮̞̭̥̓̒͗ ̪̗͔̬̟̮ͪ͂̄̍ͭ̿E̜̎͋̈́͛̇̚ ͩD̠̣̦̤͖̅”

The two men turned to look at him with horror in their eyes. Their fear only grew as Keenan pulled the headboard till the wood started to creak and bend at the strength. They backed up towards the bedroom door and just managed to cross the threshold as Keenan screamed out, loud and animalistic as he snapped the headboard clean off. 

The wood went flying from the strain of the ropes and slingshot towards the two villagers who let out terrified squeaks and scrambled out into the hall. Keenan sat up on the bed and worked the ropes off his wrists before he heard a slam as the door was closed. There was a metallic noise as a bolt latch was slide into place, locking him within the confines of the room. 

“Holy fuck, did you see that? He snapped the headboard clean off.” The voices on the other side of the door panicked much to the deep seeded pleasure of Keenan. 

“You guys are so fucked once I get out there!” He noted that the room he was locked in had no windows so his only escape route would have to be the door they locked him in. It would be no easy feat, or at least that’s what he told himself. But there was another part deeper inside that was riled up at the thought of something being more stubborn than he was. Keenan was going to break down this door by shear force of will if it was the last thing he did. “And when I do, you’re going to tell me EVERYTHING!”

“Oh fuck… what if he gets out?! Baba isn’t here! She can’t help us!!” The second man was panicking and pacing as Keenan slammed his fists into the door.

The sting of the wood against his knuckles was but a mild sting in comparison to the pain of knowing that the man he had grown so close to was in danger. He still didn’t know if he could even trust Jared but there was one thing he did know. The man had stepped in between him and Baba. He had protected him from her in the past. Judging from where he was, the redhead was most definitely the lesser of two evils. He’d rather side with a supposedly dangerous man than a twisted old lady who kidnapped him and tied him up in a bedroom. There was no way he was going to let her hurt Jared. No one deserved whatever she had planned because it was definitely not good.

“Dammit.” Keenan screamed and brought his hand back before punching full force into one of the wooden panels of the door. The blow cleanly went through in a way that shouldn’t have been possible for a normal blow but Keenan wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The perfectly square hole was big enough for him to reach though and blindly seek out the latch that was keeping him locked in the room.

“Oh fuck.. Oh fuck..” That panicked cry was followed by the sound of something hard meeting aluminum. There was a long pause and a thud of a large object collapsing onto the ground.

“What the fu-” The second man’s words were cut off with another aluminum noise and another loud thud.

Keenan’s hands had just found the latch when another hand touched his and in shock, his fingers revolted from the lock. He heard the sliding of metal on metal and the door loosened up in the frame as it became unlocked. Someone standing on the other side turned the doorknob and Keenan watched with bated breath as the door completed its transition as it was opened. His expression became quizzical at the sight before him.

The two villagers that had been assigned to keep an eye on him were out like a light, crumbled on the floor in the hallway. At least, he hoped they were unconscious. He couldn’t really tell without closer inspection. Standing above the two men and holding an aluminum bat nervous between two hands was the brunette from the bird conservatory. 

The boy wasn’t wearing the shirt he had been when they first met. His was in flip flops and swimming trunks which gave him a view of the bubbling tattoos that started small at his collar and curved over his shoulders. The dark wavy circles got bigger and thicker the further along the shoulder they went and at a glance, it almost looked like he was wearing a cloak of sorts. The tattoos, they were different but at the same time, the extent of them reminded him so much of the ones that Tanner and Jared had. There was no mistaking it.

Keenan’s nose scrunched as he tried painfully to recall what Jared had called him. He had only said it once in an offhand comment and there was a murmur in the back of his skull that offered the name like a gracious host offering to take one's coats. “Andrew?”

The boy perked up at him, the nervous energy sapping away immediately and his defensive stance loosened up. He had looked like he had been afraid of Keenan attacking him before he spoke up. “Yes, I’m surprised you remember.. Tanner was right, I guess. You really are changing quickly.” He seemed to assess the state of the door and his eyes fell to the broken headboard on the bedroom floor. “Very quickly.”

Keenan felt his hands flexing impatiently at his sides and the boy backed up, dropping the aluminum bat on the floor to put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. The bubbling tattoos were more visible as he did so. The thick circles having become small stippling dots the further down his forearm they went till they ended at his wrists. “Oh god, I’m sorry. Please don’t get mad at me. I’m already going to get into trouble with Jared for coming down here.”

“Jared..” Keenan breathed out, recalling what the men had said earlier about what was happening. Baba was looking for him. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t assume that what she was going to do was going to be nice. “Where is he?”

“He’s near the whistling coves.” At keenan’s raised brow, Andrew continued. “It’s the only place that’s nearly impossible to reach… if your human, that is.”

“Excuse me? Human?”

“Wow, he wasn’t… kidding.” Andrew let out a weak laugh. “You really have no idea what’s going on.”

Keenan threw his hands up in exasperation and sighed. “Yeah, no thanks to anyone. No one will tell me what’s going on. Everyone keeps talking all cryptic and shit. It’s driving me insane.”

Andrew stumbled back a few more steps until his back hit the wall and he held up his hands in surrender. He giggled nervously, terror in his gaze. “Ok ok ok.. Can we turn down the angry to a six, maybe a five?”

At the dry ‘what?’ he received, Andrew pointed two fingers at his face before pointing at Keenan’s. “Your eyes.. They are doing that thing that Tanner warned me of.”

Keenan pressed one hand to his eyelid and stormed over the bodies and past Andrew. Once he located the bathroom, he flicked on the light switch to see what the brunette was talking about. Sure enough, the entirety of his eyes were black, sclera and everything. He used his thumb and forefinger to hold his lid open wider and looked up and down to try and spot an edge to the inky blackness but there was none. His entire eye had become consumed by it and no amount of blinking was making it go away.

“I don’t understand. What is this? What does it mean?” Keenan braced his hands on the sink and leaned forward, nose almost touching the mirror. “If I’m changing… What exactly am I changing into?”

Andrew was at the bathroom door wringing his hands in front of him nervously like he didn’t know what to do with them. He looked up through thick curls and tried for a weak smile. “I don’t know.” Keenan gave him a frustrated look and he sputtered. “I mean, I have my suspicions but it’s crazy to think it’s even possible.”

“S̫̹͔͇̬̼ͦ̆ͦ̑ͮ̚ ̤͚̻̳̹̗̯͊̑̊̓̅P͋ͬ̋ ͓̲̙̘̔̽ͧͮͪI̗͎ ̉T̜̪̐̅ͩͩ ̱̩̈̔̑̑̌ͤͮ ̹̹̞͇̟̪ͦͨ͛̽ͦÌ̘̣̝̽ ͒T͈ ̩̠͂ ̙̟͖͕̝̓ͣͭ̉̎O̞̱̓ ͈̳̖̇̀Ṷ̟̤̥͇͙̃͛̈́̿̽ͅ ͔̰̆ͭ̀̿ͨT̼̫͍̻̟̅ͤͯ̈ͩ̇̚.”

Andrew squeaked and disappeared behind the doorframe. His hands came around the corner after a second to grab the edge before his head soon followed. He watched Keenan with a teary eyed gaze. “Ok, first of all. You need to stop… whatever that is.”

Keenan cleared his throat, feeling genuinely bad for how he had scared the other. He scratched the back of his neck and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I have no idea how to control whatever this is but I think it gets worse the more emotional I get?” He responded quizzically, not knowing whether that was true or not but all the experiences seemed to line up with that train of thought.

“Well, try and keep your cool then. I came here to help you, not to lose years off my life because of heart palpitations.” Andrew crossed his arms and looked away with a nervous jitter. “Thanks for that by the way.”

“I said sorry. Doesn’t that amount for something?” Keenan let out an exasperated sigh and walked past Andrew and entering the hallway. He toed at one of the men on the ground and rose a brow, pointing down at them. “Are they-?”

Andrew came up to stand on his left side and collected the bat that had rolled away when he had dropped it. He shook his head. “They are just out for a bit. Speaking of which, we should get out of here before Baba comes back. I’d rather not have to deal with her. She’s scary…”

“Amen to that.” That was one thing they could both agree on. Keenan didn’t need to be told twice and the two of them got up, heading through a familiar beaded curtain and past several rows of empty tables and chairs. It looked like the home that Jared had taken him to for lunch before. According to what he had said, this was Baba’s house. Keenan could not believe that he had been locked up in what he could only assume was her guest room.

The two of them made their way to the front door without looking back. Keenan stepped ahead of Andrew and opened the door only to be blinded from how bright it was outside. The inside of the home had all the curtains drawn and had been completely protected from outside light source so stepping out into the sun was a dazzling experience. He stumbled one step before his weight was caught by the nervous boy at his side.

“I got you.” Andrew called helpfully, steadying as he took the steps one at a time. 

By the time he got to the bottom, Keenan’s vision cleared up and he could see the familiar sight of the villagers all around. His chest clenched up in fear and he looked over at Andrew who looked just as nervous. “How do we get out of here?”

“We should… just be able to walk through. Not everyone here is under Baba’s influence so we shouldn’t be stopped while walking.” Andrew brushed a hand through his curled bangs, eyeing everyone that passed with a suspicious glare. “I think.”

“I don’t like how unsure you sound.”

Andrew giggled nervously to himself. “I’m sorry. Just never done this before, you know? Never thought I’d be breaking someone out of Baba’s place.” The two walked down the steps and tried to play off their nervousness by awkwardly waving at people as they passed by.

“Where are we supposed to go? We can’t go back to the hotel.” Keenan mock whispered, eyeing a woman who was walking towards them carrying a basket of fruit. He held his breath as she got closer and exhaled in relief as she walked by them and continued on down the street.

“Actually that’s probably the safest place for you right now.” At Keenan’s confused gaze, Andrew continued. “Baba can’t grab you while your there. The nymphs won’t let her.”

“Excuse me? First off, nymphs?” Keenan laughed at the ridiculousness before letting out a sigh of acceptance. It honestly wasn’t the strangest thing he had heard since he had arrived and he doubted it was going to be the last one at the rate things were going. He stroked a hand through his hair and let out a long exhale, raising a finger to enunciate his point. “Secondly, she was literally in the hotel the first day I was here. I doubt she can’t just walk into my room and grab me.”

Andrew shook his head and let out a sound of disagreement. “No, there’s a difference between being allowed passage and being allowed to conduct business within the hotel. There are rules that even she must follow.”

“What rules?”

“Hell if I know.” Andrew shrugged casually. He diverted their walking off the main street and into treeline where the hidden path that led to the hotel was. “Jared knows more about this sort of stuff than I do. He’s dealt with them more than I have.”

Keenan gave him a long look. “You are really not being helpful, like, at all.”

“What do you want me to say? I grew up here but that doesn’t mean I know everything that goes on.” Andrew pouted, arms crossing his chest with a quiet ‘harumph’.

Keenan pinched his brow and stopped once they entered the safety of the trees. He faced and made a directing motion towards Andrew with both hands. “Look, I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you did for me earlier because I do. You got me away from Baba’s goons and I'm grateful. Really.” He rested a hand on Andrew’s shoulder so he would face him as he spoke. “But I need you to be honest with me, please. Why is she after me? I want to know. No, I need to know. If you have any information. Even if it's just a speculation. Please..”

He didn't care how desperate he sounded. Keenan needed answers and he wasn't about to go willingly with the flow of things any longer. He deserved to know what was happening to him and what a leviathan exactly was.

“Okay.. it’s only speculation but from what Tanner and Jared have been saying, we think Baba may be nearing her end.” Andrew lowered his voice and whispered like he was afraid that even saying her name too loudly would invoke her anger. He glanced over his shoulder and slouched nervously.

“What do you mean?” Keenan rose a brow, his fist balled at his sides. His patience was growing shorter at the lack of answers.

“Well, she’s not like us. She’s much, much older and I’m not just saying that cause of how she looks.” Andrew must have caught onto that fact cause his eyes darted down to Keenan’s hands and he raised his own on mock surrender. “Leviathans can supposedly live for several centuries before they die. Or at least that’s what Jared told me.”

“When she grabbed me earlier, she called me that. She told me to ‘wake up’ and ever since then, I’ve felt.. Off.” Keenan trailed off as the memories were slowly clicking into place. Everything that had been covered in a grey curtain before was being torn away to reveal what had been hidden underneath. It was freeing but at the same time, even more confusing. He had more questions than answers now.

Andrew hummed, a finger pressed to his chin as his brows creased in concentration. After a moment he looked up and shrugged. “Sorry, I wish I knew more. Jared and Tanner are the ones who’ve been running around asking questions.. Well, more so Jared than anyone.” A coy grin coiled across his lips and he elbowed Keenan. “He seems to really have a thing for you. I’ve never seen him so worked up before.”

Keenan stared down at the boardwalk with red cheeks and swallowed heavily. “I wish I knew him better. Last time we spoke, well, before the incident at the bird conservator, he told me that he was dangerous and that we couldn’t be together.” He stopped in place and rubbed at the back of his neck in a shy gesture.

“He didn’t!” Andrew gasped in offense and stared at Keenan like he was expecting him to say that it was just a joke but after a moment of silence, he realized that it must have been true and he grimaced. “Jeez.. I love Jared, I really do. We’ve been friends for years but that man carries guilt so deep, it’s pretty much ingrained in his blood at this point. It’s not his fault he was born a lion.”

“I don’t understand. The men that worked for Baba called him the same thing. Is that figuratively or?” They started walking again, the hotel coming into the view and they slowed their pace so they could talk in privacy before they would end up being surrounded by hotel guides.

“Nope.” Andrew popped the ‘p’ sound gleefully. He grabbed Keenan’s shoulders and gave him a little shake. “Lion as in lionfish. Man, we really need to catch you up to speed once we get you somewhere safe.”

“Let’s hope Nori isn’t around.” Keenan glanced around nervously as if expecting the green haired woman to jump out from some dark corner. “I have no doubt that she is literally going to kill me for abandoning her… yet again.”

“Yikes, then let’s try to steer clear of her.”

They walked through the front door and tried to play off their nervousness as they wandered through the lobby, past guides and employees that were already busy with other tasks at hand. Andrew was exactly subtle about things and laughed loud enough that one of them glanced over in curiosity. Keenan almost stumbled at the feel of his hand slapping his back and he let out a round of nervous laughter himself. Oh yes, this wasn’t suspicious in the least. They slipped past the man at the front desk who gave them a cursory glance as they walked to the elevators but he didn’t say anything to the two of them. 

Andrew took that as a good sign and practically dragged Keenan by the arm into the elevator once it opened. He pulled so hard that Keenan swore his joint almost popped out of the socket as they reached his floor and he was dragged down the hallway. They passed by his room and he had to make a noise and point at the door they walked by to get him to stop. 

“This your room?” Andrew asked, trying to handle despite the fact that it would obviously be locked. He looked up at Keenan who was patting himself down, his brows getting more and more creased as he slowly came to a realization.

“Shit..”

The small brunette tilted his head owl like. “What’s wrong?”

“My wallet and phone are gone. They must have taken them when they kidnapped me. I don’t have my card to get in.” He continued to pat himself down like the items he was looking for were going to magically manifest themselves out of thin air. No dice. He was stuck outside his room without his keycard.

“Oh, let me try something. I saw Tanner do it once.” Andrew rubbed his palms together for a few seconds and focused intensely on his hands like he was trying to collect something together. He stuck his tongue out and his nose scrunched up as he concentrated.

Keenan pinched his brow at the ridiculous display going on. “What are you-”

“Shh, I’m trying to concentrate.”

After a few seconds of rubbing them together, he reached forward and pressed the tips of his fingers one at a time on the reader. There was a long pause and Keenan looked at the light on the reader waiting for it to change colour or show any sort change. But nothing happened. “Uhh?”

“Dammit this isn’t working. How did Tanner-”

The elevator dinged again and both turned expecting to see a hotel guide or even worst Baba herself but instead stepped out Tanner. He walked over and took in the scene before him and a small smile appeared, his eyes rolling in a mocking tone. “Oh my, what have we here?”

Tanner started to walk over without a care in the world and an anger built up deep in Keenan’s chest. He was only a few feet away when Keenan lunged forward. Tanner hadn’t expected it and even Andrew had only caught sight of the pupiless black eyes for a second before he was throwing a fist at him. The blond stumbled back from the punch and Andrew yelped as his friend hit the ground hard. The impact had given him whiplash and split his lip open. Blood dribbled down to his chin and Tanner dabbed at it with the weak affixation of someone who had never seen it before. He looked up as Andrew stepped in front of him, putting his body in between the both of them and used his body as a shield. “W-wait Keenan..”

“No I’m not going to wait. That man… left me with her.” Keenan snarled, his voice getting lower and lower as he progressed forward two more steps. “He left me at the hands of Baba!”

Andrew shook his head back and forth with tears gathering in his eyes. “I’m sure there was a logical explanation. Tanner wouldn’t just do that. He’s not that kind of person.”

He looked up at Andrew and a part of him purred inside at the fearful look he received. “I don’t want to hear his e̲̗̲x̘̼c̮̱ͅu͕̯s͇͚̳̞̖es̹.” Keenan could taste the warp in his tone as he spoke. It was a strange vibration that got worse the longer he remained angry. The sour aftertaste left him scrunching his nose in displeasure which only worsened his mood. “I̲̠̦͍͎ ̤̲do̪̼̥n'̰͍̣̘͔t̮̬̫̰͇̭ ̳w̥ḁ̟͍̺̬n̩͖t̹̞͚̰̺ ̯̝̟̞̘e̱̲̖̝x̠̪cu̯s̫̦̺̳̼̣e̜͙s̗̣͕͕͈!̻̞̺”

“Then how about answers!” Tanner called back, the yellow glow bleeding back into the sclera of his eyes. That brought Keenan to pause so he continued. “I know you’re confused.”

“Nͦ͗͂̽ͯ̂ͨ̕o ͐͊ͤ̂̏ͮ͟s͌ͧ̈́͆͗̕hͣ͋͂̓͡i̛͌ͬͩͨtͨ͑ͦ̐̒̊!”

“I know you’re confused because I was as well.” Tanner got up on shaky legs and tried to stand tall despite how unstead he looked. He wiped his bottom lip with the back of his hand and stared down at the blood with a disdainful look before his eyes met Keenan’s. “I was just like you several years ago.”

Andrew lowered his hands to his sides but maintains his positioning. He peered over his shoulder at Tanner as he rested a hand to put him at ease. “Tanner?”

“It’s fine. Really. I deserve it. Honestly, me walking away from the situation didn’t exactly paint me in a good light.” He smiled at Andrew through the smeared blood. He gave his shoulder one last pat before walking by and standing right in front of Keenan. “But then again, how else was I supposed to tell Jared what was happening.”

Keenan’s eyes widened momentarily and the anger immediate bled from his voice. His vocal chords became unstrained from whatever had been crushing them earlier and he wheezed out a weak ‘is he okay?’ before his hand flew up to his throat.

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure.” At the sharp look he got, Tanner narrowed his eyes and raised his voice. “Don’t look at me like that. You think you’re the only one that has the right to worry about him? We’ve been friends for years and not knowing where he is driving me insane.”

Andrew looked like he wanted to say something but all he could manage was a weak noise as he rushed into Tanner’s back, wrapping his arms around him in a hug. 

“I never meant..” Keenan choked out, his eyes going downcast as he realized just how narrow sighted he had been. He really had not shown any consideration to Tanner since they met. Then again, the man hadn’t shown him any respect either but they could at least try to find some mutual ground in the form of Jared. “I’m sorry. I saw you leave and thought…”

Tanner looked away and smiled sadly. “I know. But there was no way I could take her on by myself. You’re still coming into your power and Jared was taking care of Andrew. I had very little options available to me.” He glanced over at the door to Keenan’s room and indicated to it with a wave of the hand. “Look, let’s continue this conversation inside. I promise, I will do what I can to answer any questions you have.”

“Fine.” Keenan answered simply. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a foot impatiently. Again he felt like answers were just out of reach and they were being dangled in front of him like they were some sort of reward that they only gave when they felt he was worthy. He hated being tugged around and led on. If Tanner was willing to answer questions, then that was fine. But if he thought that Keenan was not going to go full on interrogation mode and not get as many answers out of him as he could, then he was mistaken.

Andrew let go of Tanner to approach his left side, he looked up at him through dark curls with a pout. “Yea, about that. I can’t get the reader to do the thing.” He whined and approached the door. Once there, he grabbed the handle and leaning backwards. He leaned his entire weight backwards like pulling hard on it was going to do anything.

“As I’ve said before, it has nothing to do with your technique. Electricity just so happens to be my specialty.” The blonde laughed and rested a hand on Andrews shoulder so he could approach the reader in his stead. Once he got his friend away from the door, he shooed him away to make sure he had enough room to work.

Tanner glanced over at Keenan and replicated what Andrew had been doing with his hands. The only difference was that his palms were actually starting to spark up like flint and steel being struck together. “You’ll need to move fast. I can only short out the connection for a second.”

Keenan nodded though he wasn’t quite sure he believed that the man was able to open his door just by rubbing his palms together. But then again, even if it didn’t work, he was willing to humour him if it meant there was a chance. He really didn’t want to have to find Nori who undoubtedly would end up having a key to his room. She would never let him hear the end of it.

Tanner pulled his hands apart by an inch and approached the door. His eyes were focused completely on the task before him and his brows were creased in concentration. “Get the door.” 

With a nod, Keenan grabbed the handle and he could see a flash of something jittering back and forth between Tanner’s palms in a barely controlled matter. The flashes of blue caught his eyes to the single crackle of lightning being held delicately like a small child. He let out a gasp as the blond rested a hand on the card reader and the light on top flickered red and green in rapid succession. Without needing to be told, he pulled the handle and was fascinated as it opened without any resistance.

“How?” Keenan asked, holding it open. Andrew darted past him without a word and threw himself head first onto the bed. The covers puffed up around him and hid him from view but underneath them, giggling could be heard.

Tanner, on the other hand, took his time walking into the room and paused in the doorway. He shook his hands in front of them as they steamed and smiled coyly at Keenan. “As I said before, I have an affinity towards electricity.”

Keenan sputtered for a few seconds at his audacious behaviour and pinched his brow again. A headache was starting to come on and while he doubted ibuprofen would help, he could certainly go for it regardless. He refused to accept that there was going to be a simple explanation for the situation he was in. A part of him was both scared and excited at that thought. “I will punch you again.”

“Please don’t..” Tanner begged, blowing his hand off. He finally made the transition through the doorway, joining Andrew on the bed. Unlike the brunette who was laid out on his stomach in the puffy duvet, he sat at the foot and rested his hands on his lap. He interlocked his fingers and looked up at Keenan, worrying the bloody lip with his tongue.

Keenan grabbed the pills from the foil and started to pop one out, feeling Tanners stare on him. “What?”

“Advil?” Tanner inquired with a finger poking at his chin.

Keenan furrowed his brow at him. He made a face at that unyielding stare and sighed. He rotated the foil packaging in his hands to show it off to him. “Yeah, so?”

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend it.” At Keenan’s narrow gaze, he carried on with a wave of his hand. “You got a headache right? Taking drugs are only going to delay the inevitable. I know, I was popping them like candies myself and trust me, the resulting headache once you go off them is sooo not worth it.”

There was a long pause as Keenan rotated the little white pill between thumb and forefinger in contemplation. He looked up at Tanner and chewed his lower lip before he came to a decision. Keenan slammed the fingers holding the pill on the table and it made a loud noise, startling Andrew and causing him to sit up. He let go of the pill and brushed the dust off his fingers, walking over to stand in front of Tanner completely, crossing his arms over his chest to stare him down. “You promised me answers.”

“That I did.” Tanner agreed with a nod. He moved his hands off his lap as Andrew moved to curl into his side. The brunette rested his head on his leg and watched the scene unfold around him, eyes half lidded as if he were close to falling asleep. “What do you want to know? And please keep them one at a time. I know you have a lot to ask but I am just one person.”

“Fine, what are you?”

“Our kind have several different names depending on the century and the part of the world you are in. Naiad’s, water spirits.. Mermaids.” Tanner shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “There are as many different types as there are different types of people in the world.”

“Like?”

“Well I’m part electric eel from my mother’s side, I think?” Tanner stroked the top of Andrews hair with a content smile as he thought more on the subject. “I only recently discovered my heritage when I came here. The call is strongest when you’re around others of your kind.”

Keenan looked down at Andrew who was staring back at him with twinkling blue eyes. His pupils had grown like dinner plates and his smile grew lazy. They looked as dilated as when he had first seen them. In the bird conservatory.

“And Andrew here is a sea pancake.”

“No I’m a manta ray.” The boy pouted. His cheeks puffed up and he exhaled in frustration. “Why do you always call me that?”

Tanner and Keenan just gave each other a long look but didn’t say anything. They were the only ones who had grown up off the island so of course, the reference was not missed on either of them. Andrew on the other was glancing back and forth between them, looking for some sort of explanation and getting none.

“Well anyways...” Keenan coughed into his fist to get everyone back on topic. He pointed at the other two and then himself. “Look, your going to have to give me a little more than just ‘mermaids’ cause frankly, I’m finding this whole thing hard to believe. You say your part eel and all I can picture is someone fucking an eel.”

Tanner sighed with a pinched brow and looked down at Andrew. He gave him an encouraging smile and nodded towards the ocean outside the window. “You mind giving us a bit of a show and tell?”

“But I want to know more about Baba too. Why can’t you go out?”

“Because you’re doing the showing, while I do the telling.” At Andrew’s pout, Tanner laughed and gave his cheek a gentle nuzzle. He made a kissing noise while doing so, much to the frustration of his friend who was trying to push away his face with a hand to his chin. Tanner just grinned and backed up one moment before shooting forward to catch him off guard with a kiss to his ear.

The boy turned red at that and squawked. He rolled off the bed and landed with a thud. Before anyone could check on him, he shot up to his feet, hand already scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m okay! I’m okay!” Andrew brushed down the front of his swim trunks and looked around the room. He spotted a towel sitting on the side table and he grabbed it, pointing at it with his free hand. “I’m going to borrow this. Don’t start explaining till I get back.”

“Just go. The faster you hit the water, the faster you can come back.” Tanner clapped his hands together and made no qualms about rushing his friend out the door. Once Andrew was out in the hall and the door closed behind him, he let out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. Now, let’s get into the nitty gritty.”

Keenan raised a brow at him. “I don’t understand? We’re not going to wait for him to come back?”

“No we’re not.” Tanner stated as a matter of fact. At the look he received, he leaned forward and rested his chin in his palms. “Look, I love Andrew. I really do. But he doesn’t need to get involved with this more than he has to. I didn’t even want him to go after you but he insisted on it because he’s a big supporter of you and Jared hooking up.”

Keenan nodded in understanding and tried to ignore the obvious disdain in Tanner’s tone at the mention of him and Jared being together. “You didn’t want him to get hurt by Baba.”

“Of course not. Were it up to me, I would have left this place long ago and found a place far enough away that she wouldn’t even be a thought in the back of my mind anymore.” Tanner looked away before shaking his head. “But..”

“But?” He pressed on, urging Tanner on with an incline of his head. Keenan sat on the bed next to him and took in his tired features. From the light coming in through the glass walls, he looked much more worn down.

“But this is his home. Taking a manta mer away from his home is like taking a tropical fish and putting it into a fresh water spring. It’s not natural and it would only make him sick. In more ways than one.” Tanner looked down at his lap and clenched his fists together till the knuckles turned white. He let out a breath and looked up after he composed himself more. “But you’re not here to listen to our life stories. You want to know more about what’s going on and I promised you answers. So, let’s talk about… her.”

“Baba?”

Tanner nodded. “She was here even before I showed up. Before Jared came to the island.   
Even before Andrew was born. She’s been around long before Andrews’s parents from what they told me. But then again, being what she is, that’s the usual.”

“She’s a leviathan?” Keenan was stroking his chin as he thought more on the subject. It had been something that she said to him and it had felt so impactful at that moment. It was like hearing your name for the first time and learning that was what you would be called for the rest of your life. Strange but also familiar.

Tanner appeared surprised at first but he composed himself quickly. His eyes flickered yellow for but a second but he spotted it before it disappeared. It must have been a subconscious response because he didn’t seem aware that he had done it. “So you’ve heard it then?”

“I’ve heard Baba say it but I don’t know what it means.”

“Oh.” Tanner looked down at the hand and scrunched up his brows. He looked confused.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just, when I asked if you had heard it, I meant the call.” Tanner glanced over at him in scrutiny. His eyes darted all over Keenan’s face as if looking for something that could only be revealed if he squinted hard enough.

It didn’t take long for the meaning being Tanners words to get through to him. It’s not the first time someone had mentioned a call. Even Jared had mentioned it one time. Keenan had felt it as well, it was like a magnet pulling at something in his chest and directing him in a way that he was helpless to control. Was that the call? Not a sound but a feeling? If what Tanner said about it being stronger around certain people were true, did that mean he was less than human?

After everything that had happened to him in the past few days, it should be obvious at that point. Especially since his eyes have been changing and his temper has been harder to keep in check. He’s felt more possessive and pent up, a part of himself pacing as he wanted out. He wanted to run more and dig his fingers into the sand more often and eat more meat and more, more, more… 

Was that the call?

He wasn’t quite sure. Perhaps it was something simpler than just a feeling inside him. Perhaps it was more like the sound that seems to follow Baba wherever she goes. It was haunting noise that trailed her like dark stormy clouds and left the air chilled once she passed by. It was almost like the room would get ten times colder with just her presence alone and it would draw the oxygen from his lungs till he was gagging and gasping for breath. The call, he realized, was like the noises of the whales he use to be so fixated on as a child.

“The call. It sounds like whales?” Keenan’s voice trailed off into a question at the end like he wasn’t quite sure if he was correct but at Tanner’s impressed look, he must have gotten it right. “But that can’t be right.. If that’s true then, I’ve been hearing the call all my life.”

“Is it really that ridiculous to assume it to be true?” Tanner inquired, nodding in a coaxing gesture. “You’ve heard the call all your life because of your heritage. There’s fae in your lineage.”

Keenan stood up and walked away from Tanner, his hand raised to his hair and ran through them. He continued the gesture again and again like he had no idea what to do with his hands as he thought more on the subject. His eyes darted around as he tried to understand the situation he was in. “But my parents. I swear, they’re normal unless-”

“It might not even be from your parents or even your grandparents for all we know. These things tend to skip generations especially when the kids grow up not knowing about that half of themselves.” Tanner approached him and rested a hand on his shoulder. At Keenan’s panicked look, he gave him a reassuring smile. “But trust me when I say that somewhere in your line there is fae blood. It explains the call, the change, the fear.”

“All my life I thought I was scared of the depths.” Keenan turned to face the blonde and looked over his shoulder at the glow of the water behind him. It seemed less scary than it had been when he first came arrived on the island. It was almost inviting in a way. That thought still had him stealing his nerves but he was finding himself becoming more adjusted to the idea of being in the water. “But really, I was scared of what was down there. I thought there was something in the deep that was going to pull me down if I let it. But… that was the call, wasn’t it?”

Tanner nodded slowly as he connected the dots. “There’s two parts of us. They try to find balance but as we get older, a choice has to be made. Your human side tries to put reason to the feelings you have and slowly as you grow older, the faes call grows fainter till it quiets completely.”

“Still, I don’t understand something. If it quieted down after all these years, why did it get so loud all of a sudden? It’s not just me being at this island that started it. I’ve been feeling it in my chest for so long.” Keenan couldn’t shake the feeling like there was a piece of the puzzle he was missing. Things that Tanner had told him clicked nicely with some of the other speculations and evidence he had but there was still too many unknown factors hidden behind a curtain of grey. Not having all the answers really sucked and it was maddening him, driving him to the brink of another headache. He was really wishing he had taken those pills now.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The two of them looked at each other before they glanced over at the sound of tapping. The window became overcast with a dark shape in the foreground. Tanner didn’t seem too distracted by the figure on the other side of the window but Keenan was drawn into the humanoid shape waving back excitedly with webbed fingers.

“Is that..?” Keenan asked over his shoulder, not taking his eyes away from the person outside his hotel room. He walked up to the dining area at the back of his room and rested a hand against the cool glass. Sure enough the curly haired figure did a little swoop and approached the glass as well. There were two pinpricks of blue light that Keenan slowly came to the realization were eyes. They were bioluminescent with tiny, round pupils that he had seen before on the discovery channel. He recalled that it had something to do with helping deep sea creatures detect movement and prey in the dark.

Tanner nodded and came to join him near the window. “Yes, I assure you. He may look different right now but that’s still Andrew. In a way, this is the real him.”

Those blue flickered as the brunette glanced back and forth between the two people within the room. Andrew grinned and did a few twirls in the water, his mouth opening and closing several times and he made a few conversational gestures with his hands. After a moment, his brow scrunched up as he realized something.

“We can’t hear you Andrew.” Tanner made a show of pointing to his ears with a shake of his head. 

His friend nodded and did a playful backflip in the water appearing to be unbothered by that fact the minute it had come to mind. He was playfully swooping expertly with his new features that were made for easy mobility in the water. Andrew’s arms had long blanketed flaps of skin that started just below his wrists and formed long flat wings that spanned down to his hips. Below the curve of his hips were small squared fins that propped out angled downward. Where his legs would be was a long tail that started around the same size of his waist but grew tapered at the end. The very tip was sharp and had the same type of barb that a manta ray had.

Keenan noticed that his skin was mottled with smears of navy blue coloration that started in small bubbling dots at the back of his neck, just below his hairline. The dots got bigger and closer together the further down his spine till they completely covered his shoulders and back in that dark blue tone. His chest faded down from his skin tone to the white underbelly of his wing flaps and ended at his dark blue tail. He gasped as he realized that the circular markings on his body almost matched up perfectly with the tattoos he had seen earlier.

Keenan was having a bit of an inner turmoil at that fact but mostly because of the mer that was swimming and gliding around outside like he hadn’t a care in the world. The way Andrew moved by gently flapping his arms was mesmerizing but also terrifying at the same time because it meant that he couldn’t just pretend anymore. It wasn’t just a story or make belief anymore. It wasn’t just a fairy tale. It was real and in his face. Another piece clicked in the puzzle and he realized what the tattoos meant now. Or at least, he had a very good idea. He jolted at a hand on his shoulder and looked over with a darting gaze at Tanner who had touched him.

“Don’t freak out on me.” 

Keenan frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m fine.”

“You’re panicking.” Tanner reached forward and brushed two fingers along his brow, he pulled them away and shows the dampness left there. He came up to Keenan’s side patted him on the back, soothing a hand down his spine in a calming gesture. “You need to calm down and take a deep breath.”

Keenan felt a suspicious tingle in the back of his head and his power reared up in warning but there was no forced calmness on his nerves. There was no pull like the call trying to get him to relax and obey. One glance up at Tanner confirmed that the man wasn’t trying anything with him. There was no yellow in his eyes but they were focused on Keenan’s features like he was trying to find where the stress was physically manifesting.

He tried to talk but his voice came out weak. The words wouldn’t form properly, like his tongue was lead. Keenan was confused and rubbed his brows with his forearm and wiped away the sweat. He couldn’t believe it. All this time, he thought that he had been taking the situation rather well. But his racing pulse told a different story. Tanner gave him another reassuring nod and Keenan took a few more deep breaths before he swallowed the lump in his throat. After another pause he tried to talk again. “This is real. I mean, this is really real.”

“That was my reaction when I first found out as well.”

Keenan watched the manta mer do a few circles in the water. The boy was swishing around and chasing his tail, putting on a big display as he swam around. The grin on Andrew’s face was infectious and he found himself smiling as well. He was torn away from the figure swimming back and forth by Tanner’s words and he glanced over to take in the blondes features.

He looked longfully at the water and rose a hand to press a palm to the glass. His eyes were distant, like he was seeing something far away that no one else could spot but him. Andrew came up and pressed his webbed hand to the other side of the glass and their eyes met, Tanner being shaken from whatever melancholy he had fallen into. He looked over to see Keenan gazing at him and he fumbled over his words for the first time ever. “I mean, I didn’t have it as hard as you with- you know, Baba and all that.. But, I did have a hard time figuring stuff out.”

“You weren’t born like this?” Keenan inquired with a quirk of his brow. He was very interested to hear this tale. Maybe it would help to fill more blank spaces in his disoriented puzzle.

Tanner rapped on the glass with his knuckles to get Andrew’s attention and when the brunette looked over at him, he made a beckoning gesture. Once the mer swam out of sight, he turned to face Keenan. “No, I was like you. I was raised human and as I got older, the call I felt got weaker till one day it just went away.”

“What happened after that?”

“I uh..” Tanner chuckled and scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I got an invitation to an island resort and that part of me sort of woke back up.”

Keenan made an irritated noise at that and the blonde looked at him curious as to what the interruption was for. He cleared his throat and rubbed at his brow before shaking his head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean- Uh… please go on.”

“Well, I was raised in the city by my parents. I hear there’s a fae community in-land but I guess they stick to their own community or something.” Tanner shrugged at that. “I don’t know, I never met anyone like me until I came here. Then I arrived and it was like mer central.”

“I’ve only ever met you, Andrew and Jared though. There really are that many mer living here?”

Tanner let out a bitter laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, most of them live in the village now. Baba made sure of that. She’s a biiiig fan of segregation. Likes to keep the communities separated so she can keep an eye on things.” 

There was a sound of rapid knocking on the front door and both of them glanced over, being pulled from their conversation as Andrew started mock whispering on the other side. “Guys, uh guys…”

“What is it Andrew?” Tanner started to walk over towards the door when the card reader beeped and he took a step back with a worried expression. “Uh…”

The door swung open and Andrew was standing on the other side, hair still soaked and looking sheepishly with his hands in his pockets. Holding him by the towel wrapped around his neck was Nori. Her brows were furrowed and her cheeks were puffed out in irritation.

“Tanner, can you please take your boyfriend back and please remind him that swimming around while we have tourists is not a good idea.” Nori glanced over and saw Keenan. She smiled brightly and let go of Andrew se he could run over to the blonde. “You know why it's prohibited.”

Tanner grabbed the towel from Andrew and started to ruffle it in his hair to dry him off. He shook his head at the hotel assistant. “Save it Nori. He already knows.”

“He.. knows.” Nori trailed off, her smile remaining but it twitched ever so slightly like she was having a hard time maintaining it. Her hands pressed together in front of her in a patient gesture. “Tanner, I know you’re still new but surely you know the rules.”

“Yeah I do. But do those rules ever apply to Baba?” 

“She’s… a special case, you know that.”

“So you allow her to just grab people then?” Keenan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. At her balk, he continued with a sneer. “Cause that’s what she did to me. She dragged me off and tied me up in her bedroom, her goons holding me hostage.”

“Keenan? I don’t-”

“He’s telling the truth Nori.” Andrew looked up with static in his hair. His locks stuck up every which way from being dried off from the towel. “I overhead a bunch of people in the village talking about how they were holding a leviathan till she got back.’

Nori paled at that and her eyes went wide. She brought a delicate hand to her lips and gasped into them. The gears seemed to be clicking into place as she gave Keenan’s angry look a once over. “Oh my go, that means.. It makes sense now.”

Tanner stared down at his hands as the static raised the hairs on his arms. It tickled along his skin in visible flickers of blue light before it was absorbed into his body. “Nori, your people are supposed to stop this from happening. She’s been getting away with so much lately.”

“Look, I understand your frustration. You think I like the idea of this happenings? I wish I had more say in the matter but I’m only one person.” Nori huffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

“Nymph.” Tanner repeated, ignoring the glare he got from her. He was watching Keenan now and could see the tension straining behind his eyes. “Look. I understand you want to play the whole ‘goodie goodie, no one has ever been taken on my watch’ part but now is not the time for that. Not sure if you can tell but the air is getting a little heavy here.”

Nori followed his gaze and chewed her lower lip. “Keenan, I know this looks really bad. But I can explain.”

“Then do so because I am getting so sooo sick and tired of people telling me that. They keep saying they’ll explain but then they don’t. Up until a few minutes ago, I had no idea what was happening and even now, I still don’t know what a leviathan is!” Keenan voice rose the angrier he got and was only calmed down when Nori pressed a hand to his chest. He felt his rage roiling under his skin, demanding to be let out. It snarled at her touch but the sound grew more and more distance, like someone had thrown a blanket over the problem.

“Ok ok. Sit down, I’ll try to explain the best I can.” She took his hand and brought him over to the bed. Once she was seated, she took a deep breath and composed herself with her hands on her lap.

Keenan stared at her quietly, nodding as their eyes met. If Nori was a ‘nymph’ as Tanner had put it then that meant she must have known more about the fae than she let on. She would definitely know about Baba and why she was obsessed with him. She must know what that lady is doing to the island. Then again, if he recalled his earlier interactions with her, she hadn’t exactly been subtle about what she was.

“I’m trying to figure out how to start. There’s a lot to cover.” Nori counted on her fingers in a nervous gesture, refusing to meets Keenan’s pupiless gaze.

“How about from the beginning.” Andrew helpfully suggested, adding to the conversation in a happy tone. At Keenan’s black eyed stare, he scratched the back of his neck and ducked slightly behind Tanner. “Sorry..”

“Ok, you’re right. The beginning.” Nori looked up and forced a smile. “Alright. Well, this island. It wasn’t always like this. I mean, it was always pretty but there wasn’t always a hotel. It was very much like a lawless zone and while it was nice for fae to be able to do whatever they want, it was also dangerous.”

“Baba wasn’t the first leviathan to reside on the island. Many years before I even came to this island, there was another who supposedly ran things. From what Dulse told me, he was even less pleasant than Baba. He had been pushed from the mainlands for hunting others of our kind near the shoreline.” Nori’s voice get strained as she recalled what her friend had told her. Her hands clenched in her lap and her eyes shut tightly. “He was ruthless and killed so many people till he eventually forced away by sheer numbers. Dulse told me that he started to gather powerful fae and mer who were lost and easily fell in under his reign. But they needed a place to settle. Not everyone that followed him was a waterborne creature. Some needed land to live on.”

Keenan nodded as that piece of the puzzle clicked in. Slowly he was starting to understand what was going on. “This island. This was the one he came to.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Yeah, he established some villages here and there for his forces. They grew in numbers and I think he had plans for storming the main lands again.The places have changed since that dark time though. Lots of family trees have branched down so far that they don’t even recall the original reasonings for being here anymore. I guess it’s a good thing that he passed away but Baba took over shortly afterwards. She’s not as bad as him but.. she’s close.”

Keenan grit his teeth at her. “You think?!” He watched her physically flinch at his tone and he exhaled to try and calm himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just… I can’t believe you let me walk around knowing what she was capable of! You say she was allowed to get away with certain things? Why?”

“You have to understand Keenan. Up until now, leviathan mer were marked down as ‘doomed to extinction’. Baba was the only one left and being in her twilight years, she couldn’t exactly branch out her family tree. She used that to her advantage, lied to everyone about what she was doing.” Nori glared at his hands, looking both angry and helpless. “Everyone else was all too happy to pretend that what she was doing was justified. That as long as they didn’t see the people going missing, then it was okay. But it wasn’t!”

“She was really just looking for another leviathan to carry on the bloodline?” Tanner inquired, head cocked to the side. He had a hand pressed to his chin and a thoughtful look on his face as he chewed over her words. “Or was she trying to continue where the other leviathan left off?”

Nori shook her head back and forth. “I don’t know. Maybe even that’s also a lie she told everyone. When I first arrived here, I swore I wouldn’t let something like that happen. I promised to protect the people I was assigned and- well, we all know how that turned out. Thanks for abandoning me again.” She laughed sadly at her attempt to lift the heavy mood that had filled the room.

“She’s raising some sort of army.” Tanner crossed his arms and looked back and the brunette standing behind him still. “Andrew lives in the village. He can confirm this. Just yesterday she was rounding up people and notifying them of some big changes that were going to be coming.”

Nori looked over at Andrew with trepidation written across her face. Her usually cheerful features were creased in worry now and she got up from the bed to approach the manta mer. “You’re sure about this?”

“Yeah. Mom and dad told me to stay inside when she showed up to talk. Next thing I know-” He sniffled and pressed his face into Tanner’s back. His cries became choked as he tried to bury himself in his shirt. His hands clung to the fabric there like a child needing a blanket.

Tanner turned around and cooed at him in a soothing gesture. He wrapped him in his arms and ran a palm over his back to calm his hiccups. His yellowing gaze directed to Nori. “She took his parents. They’re still there but… not completely. I came over yesterday and they were glassy eyed and unresponsive. Like dolls.”

Keenan stood up and clenched his hands at his sides till the knuckles turned white. His lips curled down into a scowl and he walked to stand in the middle of everyone. His gaze flickered around to take in the three people in his room. Nori looked horrified, Andrew was sobbing and Tanner was trying to be brave but was faltering at the feeling of the trembling boy in his arms. “Why are we letting her get away with this? If I’m really a leviathan and I’m as powerful as her then we could stop this from happening, right?”

Nori grabbed his arm and looked up into his black eyes. “Keenan, listen to what your saying.. I know that your coming into your power and you feel like you could probably take on the world but Baba doesn’t play fair. She will not take it easy on you because you are young.” 

Silence filled the room at that and quietly a few notes started to play. It was very familiar and Tanner and Keenan both rose eyebrows at the sound of the ‘super mario theme’. The cheerful tone picked up and got louder as Nori turned red and pulled out her phone. She answered it and put it to her ear.

“Hello?” Nori stared off into the distance and tapped her foot as the person on the other line spoke. Slowly the tapping stopped and her face paled more, expression becoming horrified. She stared at Keenan and her hand trembled as she hung up. “It’s started…”

“What’s started?” Keenan stepped forward. He felt the anger boiling in his stomach at the sight of pure terror written on his guides face. He grimaced but for the most part, managed to keep his cool as she turned to face him.

“Baba and her people are on the beach right now. They’re marching towards the hotel and..” Nori swallowed heavily. “Dulse is calling me to form up with the others.. I have to go.”

Keenan stared at her. “I can go with you. You need the help.”

She was already halfway out the door but turned back to cross the room and give him a small hug. “No, you need to stay here. You’ll be safe.” She pulled back as quickly as she had embraced him and gave his arm one final stroke.

Tanner lifted a finger to indicate to himself and Andrew. “Keenan is right. You’ll need the numbers. Her forces are huge at this point and-” 

Nori made a double crossing motion with her arms, slashing an ‘X’ in the air. “And I said no! You need to stay here. We have been handling things here for years, we can take care of a little rebellion.” She gave one last warning at the three boys in the room and turned on her heels. The front door closed and the sound of her shoes could be heard growing further away.

Tanner and Keenan stared at each other for a long silent moment and Andrew glances back and forth between them before clearing his throat to get their attention. “So- are we..”

“Yeah.. no.”

“Like hell I’m staying here.” 

Both of them said at the same time still staring at each other with determined expressions. For the first time, the two of them seemed to agree on something and there was a mutual kinship at the fact that neither intended on doing what Nori asked them to. Tanner grinned at Keenan and it was returned in requited defiance.

“Lͬ̓͐̿̓ͣeͤt’'̄̇ͨ̈s̓ͭͪ̎ ̆̍̋̓g̅ͤ̀̽̇e̊t̆̍̓ ̐̈͑t͊́h̉͗e̐̋͋̌͑ ͗͗ͥf̽̏ͯ̔̿ucͫ̋kͤ̎ͧ̌͐ ͊oú͌͂t ͐ͯ͐ofͪ̔ ̌h̑̏̐̿͋͆e̾͆ͯͭͧrͨ̎eͧ̇ͣ͊!̾ͣ” Keenan growled, letting that reverberating power take hold of his vocal chords.

***

**Author's Note:**

> New AU Pog!


End file.
